The CrossWind consortium, made up from Shell and Eneco, was selected from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy to develop and operate the Hollandse Kust (noord) offshore wind project without government subsidies.
Specifically, the 760 megawatt farm will use about 70 giant Siemens Gamesa turbines, but it also incorporates five unusual energy demonstrator projects.
It is reported that the site will include a floating solar park; short-term battery storage; turbines tuned to minimize the “wake effect” that each turbine has on the units behind it; and renewable hydrogen via electrolysis.
The partners hope that the combination of these measures will help to even out the supply of power when the wind is low.
Referring to the project, Maarten Wetselaar, Director of Shell Integrated Gas and New Energies, stated that
Offshore wind will play a pivotal role in the worldwide energy transition. It will also be another important next step in our ambition to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner, in step with society.
The consortium plans to have Hollandse Kust (noord) operational in 2023 with an installed capacity of 759 MW, generating at least 3.3 TWh per year. This is enough renewable power to supply more than 1 million Dutch households with green electricity. The wind farm will be located 18.5 kilometres off the coast of The Netherlands near the town of Egmond aan Zee.
