Airtricity has been awarded site exclusivity by the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management for its offshore wind farm at the location “Breeveertien II”. This is a major step for Airtricity in developing a second offshore wind farm in the Netherlands.
The ”Breeveertien II” site has a potential capacity of 350MW and can deliver electricity to about 260.000 households. It is located 60 kilometres off the coast to the west of IJmuiden in the North Sea (90 kilometres from Amsterdam). The water depths are perfect for an offshore wind farm, being of the magnitude 19-25 metres and the wind resource is excellent.
By obtaining site exclusivity, Airtricity has made a major step towards achieving full construction consent for the “Breeveertien II” site. Prior to receiving the construction consent, public hearings will be organised as well as a review by an independent environmental committee.
In November 2006 Airtricity announced that it had been awarded site exclusivity on the 284MW West Rijn offshore wind farm 40 kilometres off the coast to the west of Scheveningen in the North Sea.
Arno Verbeek, Country Manager for the Netherlands (offshore wind) said: ”Development of this second offshore wind farm makes Airtricity one of the leading offshore wind developers in the Netherlands. The project will make a substantial contribution to the Dutch offshore wind target of 6,000MW of electricity by 2020.”
Eddie O’Connor, Chief Executive Airtricity said: “The Dutch market is important for Airtricity and we are delighted to have gained exclusivity for a second offshore site in Dutch waters. Development of the Breeveertien II wind farm is an important step towards realising Supergrid, a pan European subsea energy grid, which will link a series of offshore wind farms from the Mediterranean to the Bay of Biscay, Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic Sea. The Breevertien II wind farm will commence construction in 2012 and we look forward to working with the Dutch Government on both these projects.”