The Dutch cabinet has today set a 70GW offshore wind target for 2050 in its aims to ramp up sustainability and increase hydrogen production in the country.
These plans are based on the assumption of generating about 50GW of wind power in 2040 with the cabinet already working towards delivering 21GW by 2030, which is about 75% of the current electricity consumption in the Netherlands.
The cabinet also has plans for large-scale hydrogen production in the North Sea in order to enable a large part of the industry to switch from gas to green hydrogen.
It also wants to realize large-scale energy nodes at sea in areas further away in the North Sea that are hundreds of kilometers from the coast.
As a result, not all wind farms need to be connected separately to the onshore electricity grid, but they can be connected to the energy node to also produce hydrogen at sea, meaning energy can then be transported to land partly as electricity and partly as hydrogen, the Dutch Government said
As a result, fewer electricity cables are needed to bring the energy ashore, which saves costs and requires less space on the coast, while connections with other North Sea countries can also be made via the hubs, which contributes to security of supply, it added.
Climate and Energy Minister Rob Jetten said: “Earlier this year, we made firm plans for 2030. We are now also laying down an ambitious plan up to 2050.
“This gives us the space to look further ahead and work carefully.
“70 gigawatts of power is very ambitious and in the coming years we will look at exactly how many gigawatts are needed.
“This gives us the opportunity to sustainably electrify a large part of the Netherlands and to generate green hydrogen for industry, for example.
“We work carefully in this regard, with a great eye for nature above and below water and other interests in the North Sea such as food production, shipping, defense and coastal defence.”
Earlier this week, the 9 European North Sea countries, united in the North Seas Energy Cooperation, agreed to jointly build 260 gigawatts of wind capacity in the North Sea until 2050.
In May this year it was also agreed that Denmark, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands will work closely together on the North Sea.
The planned energy nodes of these countries will be interconnected and ensures a more robust energy system for all countries.