Wind power in the Netherlands

Wind power in the Netherlands has recently been used as a renewable source of electricity.^[1] By December 2013, 1,975 wind turbines were operational on land in the Netherlands, with an aggregate capacity of 2,479 MW.^[2] An additional 228 MW of capacity was installed at sea.^[3] The Dutch are trying to meet the EU-set target of producing 14% of total electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Windmills have historically played a major part in the Netherlands by providing an alternative to water driven mills.^[4]

Onshore wind power

Wind turbines at the Westereems Wind Park

The largest onshore wind farm is located in Eemshaven in Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands. This 156 MW wind farm contains a mix of Vestas V90 3MW (known as GroWind) and Enercon E 82 3MW (known as Westereems) wind turbines.^[5] Other large wind farms are located in Delfzijl-zuid (72 MW), Lelystad (46 MW), Terneuzen, (Koegorspolder, 44 MW), and Biddinghuizen (WP Kubbeweg, 34 MW).^[2]

Most wind power is produced in the province of Flevoland.^[2]

Remarkably, wind turbines with just 2 blades are sometimes used as in Eemmeerdijk Wind Park.

Offshore wind power

Princess Amalia Wind Farm in the North Sea

In addition to the wind farms built onshore, two wind farms have been built out in the sea.^[6] In 2006, the Egmond aan Zee Offshore Wind Farm was built, consisting of 36 Vestas V90 3MW turbines, totaling 108 MW, sufficient to light 100,000 houses.^[1][2][7] The project cost $272 million and is cooperatively owned by Royal Dutch Shell and the Dutch utility company Nuon. In 2008, a second, somewhat larger offshore wind park was built: the Princess Amalia Wind Farm, consisting of 60 Vestas V80 2MW turbines totaling 120 MW, sufficient to power 125,000 homes and help the Netherlands cut 225,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.^[2][6] The wind park was developed off the coast of IJmuiden by Econcern and Eneco Energie, at a total cost of $522.3 million.^[6]

The Dutch government has expressed the aspiration to build 6,000 MW of offshore wind power by 2020,^[8] which will have a considerable impact on the Dutch electricity grid, operated by TenneT.^[9] As a first step, the government has determined 65 sites for offshore wind farms in the North Sea and IJsselmeer.^[1]

In November 2011, the Dutch government decided to no longer fund 6B€ per year to maintain subsidized wind KWh at €0.18. It sharply cut subsidies down to 1.5B€, leaving private sector to carry over windmill investments shall these be beneficial.^[6]

See also

• Community wind energy
• Solar power in the Netherlands

References

Wind power Wind power Environmental impact High-altitude History Land vehicles Offshore Turbines on public display Windmill Wind turbines Aerodynamics Airborne Crosswind kite Darrieus Design Floating Savonius Small Unconventional Vertical axis Wind power industry Consulting companies Farm management Manufacturers Software Windmade Wind farms Community-owned Farms by country Offshore farms by country Onshore farms Concepts Betz's law Capacity factor EROEI Forecasting Grid energy storage HVDC Intermittency Variability Laddermill Net energy gain Resource assessment Storage Subsidies Wind profile power law