Ecowende, a joint venture of Shell and Eneco has won the tender for the 700MW Hollandse Kust West 6 site in the Dutch North Sea, one of two designated in the 1400MW HKW offshore wind farm zone.
The developer’s bid included a ‘nature-inclusive’ design, including a section where wind turbines are widely spaced so that birds can fly between them safely.
In a statement, the Dutch government said that the Ecowende will be using various piling techniques to measure and minimise the impact on underwater ecosystems.
This includes placing reef structures on the seabed, to boost underwater biodiversity.
The Hollandse Kust West wind farm zone is located approximately 28.6 nautical miles (53 kilometre) off the west coast of the Netherlands – it is expected online by 2026.
“The plan presented by Ecowende shows what we can do to set up wind farms that work with nature. It can go well together. And that is necessary because there will be many more wind farms at sea to be able to supply sufficient green energy,” said minister for climate and energy policy, Rob Jetten.
“With 40 innovative experiments and applications in this proposal, we are starting a movement to build offshore wind farms with minimal impact on nature.”
RWE won the tender for the 700MW Hollandse Kust West 7 site back in November this year.
Both wind farms are expected to be commissioned between 2025-2026 and construction will be carried out without subsidy.
Applications for the tenders were made between April 14 and May 12, 2022.