
The consortium of pension fund ABP, pension investor APG and wind energy developer SSE has signed a Realisation Agreement with transmission system operator TenneT for the offshore grid connection of IJmuiden Ver Alpha wind farm off the Netherlands. The array will be built 60 km from the coast, and will be the first offshore wind farm to be connected by TenneT in accordance with the new 2GW direct current standard. It is expected to be commissioned by the end of this decade. The Realisation Agreement enables the development and construction of the physical grid infrastructure required to connect the wind farm to the Dutch high voltage grid. Generated electricity from the wind farm will come ashore in Borssele and connected to a converter station there. TenneT’s offshore grid connection is expected to be operational by the end of 2029.
The consortium of ABP/APG and SSE Renewables won the tender for the development of IJmuiden Ver Alpha wind farm, an offshore wind farm with an installed capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW), in June 2024. 2 GW is about 7% of the current Dutch electricity demand. The tender criteria for this lot focused on making a positive contribution to nature. The consortium proposed a diverse package of measures to mitigate the impact on ecology, and increase biodiversity. Also, in collaboration with Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, ABP/APG and SSE Renewables will investigate and monitor how wind farms can contribute to protecting and strengthening the ecosystem.
Between 2018 and 2023, TenneT realised an offshore grid connection system at the rate of 700 MW per year. In total, the Netherlands currently has 4.7 GW of installed offshore wind capacity, and by 2032, the country aims to achieve 21 GW of energy from offshore wind. TenneT is realising seven of these new offshore grid connections for wind farms in the Dutch North Sea until 2032. All of them will be using a 2 GW direct current connection.