On June 19 the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind park produced its first megawatt-hours (MWh) of green energy, and delivered it via TenneT’s offshore grid to the Dutch mainland. In coming months production capacity will be constantly increased, so the wind park will eventually generate 3.3 TWh a year. When complete, the Hollandse Kust Noord wind park will have a total installed capacity of 759 MW. This will contribute directly to the promise of the Dutch government to achieve the target set out in its Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap for 4.5 GW of operational capacity by the end of this year.

Hollandse Kust Noord is being built 18.5 kilometers off the Dutch coast by CrossWind, a joint venture of Shell and Eneco. The wind park consists of 69 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 11 MW. Offshore construction began mid-October 2022 with the installation of the first monopile, and the wind turbine installation has started in April 2023. Full production of green electricity is expected by the end of 2023.

“We are delighted to announce the production of first power from Hollandse Kust Noord,” said Tjalling de Bruin, CEO and Project Director at CrossWind. “We often talk about milestones along a project’s journey, and CrossWind has had a number to date, but to have the wind turbines generating green electricity safely and successfully in such a short timeframe, is a great achievement for everyone involved.”

Arjan Dams, Project Director Hollandse Kust (noord) (west Alpha) and (west Beta) at TenneT adds: "The complete grid connection - from our platform at sea to the high-voltage substation along the A9 motorway near Beverwijk - has been ready for the landfall of renewable energy from wind since the end of March 2023. In good cooperation with all parties involved, including CrossWind, we were able to carry out this offshore grid connection project within time, scope and budget."

An exciting journey ahead

Ekansh Aggarwal, Commissioning Manager at CrossWind: “We are now looking forward to successfully reaching, together with our partners and contractors, the full commissioning of Hollandse Kust Noord in the months to come. We still have an exciting journey ahead of us. As we steadily add more power generation capacity during this year, we will also be testing many power quality control features that support the TenneT electricity grid.”

A smart offshore wind park

The wind doesn’t always blow consistently. So how can an offshore wind park provide electricity when there is little wind? CrossWind and its partners are developing and researching five different innovations designed to address these challenges. Through these smart innovations, an offshore wind park could be capable of providing more constant electricity to the grid, regardless of the wind conditions.

About CrossWind

CrossWind, a joint venture between Shell and Eneco, builds and operates the Hollandse Kust Noord (HKN) subsidy-free offshore wind park, located on the North Sea, off the coast of the Netherlands. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy is supplying the wind turbines and Van Oord is supplying the foundations and cables and installing the wind turbines at sea. CrossWind is in close contact with TenneT, the developer of the “offshore power socket“ connecting HKN to the grid, as well as the relevant ministries, coastal authorities and other stakeholders.