Vattenfall has won the right to build the up to 760MW Hollandse Kust Zuid 3&4 wind farm off the Netherlands on a subsidy-free basis.
The developer beat off competition from Orsted, Engie, and the Whitwind consortium of Van Oord, Eneco and Shell.
Vattenfall senior vice president and head of wind Gunnar Groebler said the successful bid was down to “continued efforts along the entire value chain and the solid current account and portfolio approach of our company”.
“Thanks to the good cooperation with our supply chain partners, we have been able to submit a state-of-the-art offer for this project.
“We can now bundle the projects Hollandse Kust Zuid 1&2 as well as 3&4. This is a great advantage that will lead to further optimisations and synergies.”
Vattenfall will use 76 Siemens Gamesa 10MW turbines at the project, spaced at around 1km apart. Offshore construction at the project is due to start in 2022.
The site lies 12 nautical miles from the Dutch coast in waters between 25-35 metres deep. The site has average wind speeds of between eight and nine metres per second and soft sandy sea beds.
Bids were submitted in early March and judges assessed each bid under six headings, including each developer’s approach to risk management.
“We have not yet received feedback on what made our bid stand out, but we know it has a very robust business case,” Vattenfall bid team member Ireen Geerbex told reNEWS.
The project is due online by 2024. The Dutch government plans to bring 11.5GW of projects online by 2030.
Vattenfall was awarded the right to build the neighbouring 750MW Hollandse Kust Zuid 1&2 project last March.
HKZ 1&2 is due online in 2022-23 and will also feature 76 Siemens Gamesa 10MW turbines. Offshore construction at HKZ 1&2 will start around one year ahead of work at 3&4, Vattenfall said.
Chief executive Magnus Hall added: “This is excellent news for Vattenfall, our partners and the Dutch energy transition. It means a significant step for Vattenfall in view of our ambition to make fossil-free living possible within one generation and to grow in renewable energy production.
“The Netherlands is an important market for us and this will be one of our biggest offshore projects. We are looking forward to contribute with this project to the transformation of the Dutch energy system.”