Five World War 2 anti-tank mines have been detonated in a controlled explosion by the Explosives Clearing Service Defence in the dunes near Velsen, where TenneT is to lay cables for connection to the offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust.
These explosives were found while removing some ‘obstacles’ from the beach at Velsen, on the route for two TenneT marine cables.
The grid operator will use these wires to bring sustainable electricity from the Hollandse Kust site ashore from 2026.
To ensure the safe laying of the sea cables, various obstacles have been removed from Velsen beach over the past three weeks.
Excavators and so-called excavation boxes were used to dig wells measuring five metres by five metres to a depth of about seven metres in the beach.
A total of seven ‘targets’ were involved. These were previously located with the use of a drone and radar technology during the investigation of unexploded ordnance from WW2.