The result of the Hollandse Kust Zuid 3&4 auction has confirmed the offshore wind industry’s low-cost credentials, according to WindEurope.
Chief executive Giles Dickson said the tender, won by Vattenfall, shows the sector is now the cheapest form of new power in north-west Europe apart from onshore wind.
“The ‘zero subsidy’ system seems to work in the Netherlands, because the Dutch share a lot of the project risk, and it’s not hard for wind farms to find corporate buyers for the power they produce. But in most European countries offshore wind auctions need to offer stable revenues – and this reduces the financing and therefore the total societal costs,” he said.
Dickson said the Dutch are in the vanguard of the offshore wind push in Europe with a “steady” 700MW per year auction pipeline.
“They provide clear visibility of what they’re auctioning and when which helps reduce costs. They’re taking a strategic approach to grid investments – and a healthy long-term view of marine spatial planning aiming at happy co-existence between offshore wind and e.g. fishing and biodiversity,” he added.
Dickson said the country could do more than an 11.5GW offshore wind target by 2030.