TenneT and Shell-Eneco joint venture CrossWinds have signed an agreement for the construction of the offshore grid connection for the 759MW Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farm.
The agreement formalises the connection of the offshore wind farm to the Dutch electricity grid.
It covers liabilities during the construction and operational phase, the technical aspects of the grid connection and applicable technical standards, and the requirements in terms of compliance with laws and regulations.
Hollandse Kust Noord is being built 18.5 km off the Dutch coast at Egmond aan Zee and both the wind farm and grid connection are scheduled to be operational in 2023.
It is the third wind area for which TenneT will develop a 700MW standardised AC connection.
CrossWind CEO Tjalling de Bruin said: “These agreements with TenneT mark an important milestone in this project.
“We have a tight schedule to get this offshore wind farm ready on time and supplying clean electricity in 2023.
“Moreover, we want to apply five innovations in the wind farm to learn how we can also supply electricity when there is no wind. Because of the ambitious planning and these innovations, close cooperation with TenneT is essential.”
TenneT offshore projects director Marco Kuijpers added: “Until 2030 we will connect at least 9.6 GW of offshore wind energy to the Dutch high-voltage grid.
“We delivered Borssele Alpha and Borssele Beta in 2019 and 2020 respectively, in good cooperation with Orsted and the Blauwwind consortium, safely, within budget and on schedule. We look forward to working with Crosswind.”
The generated power from Hollandse Kust Noord will be transported through the offshore grid to the high-voltage substation in Beverwijk and then transported to the energy consumers via the national high-voltage grid.