The first two new wind turbines of energy company Essent at Westereems Wind Park have been connected to the electricity grid and are generating electricity. These turbines are therefore contributing to the provision of sustainable energy in The Netherlands.
The connected wind turbines, each almost 100 metres tall, are the first in a series of, in total, 52 wind turbines, which together will constitute Westereems wind park, the largest wind park on land in The Netherlands. The whole park has a capacity of 156 MW and supplies electricity for approximately 135,000 households. All the turbines at the wind park are expected to be connected to the electricity grid by the beginning of 2009.
Westereems Wind Park is being created to replace and extend the old parks of Eemshaven and Eemsmond, which comprise 134 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 44 MW. To make room for the new turbines, last year as many as forty turbines from the former Eemshaven Wind Park were dismantled.
Wind energy is an essential part of Essent's energy mix, for today and in the future. This is why Essent recently began a tender process to build a large wind park on sea, 'Nordsee-Ost' off the coast of Helgoland. Research is also being carried out into how soon turbines in the Westermeerdijk wind park on the edge of the IJsselmeer can be replaced and what possibilities there are for wind energy in surrounding countries.
With the wind park at Westereems Essent is making an important contribution to the aim of the Dutch government to generate at least twenty per cent of the total energy production from sustainable sources by 2020.
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