RWE is participating in the Dutch offshore wind tender for Hollandse Kust West (HKW). The company has submitted bids for both HKW site VI and HKW site VII to contribute to the Dutch government’s ambitious build out target of 21 gigawatts (GW) for offshore wind by around 2030. The areas are located in the North Sea, about 53 kilometres off the Dutch coast. Both sites will each deliver more than 760 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind capacity. In addition, RWE’s proposed design for HKW site VI endeavours to have a positive net impact for the North Sea ecosystem, whereas RWE’s concept for HKW site VII is a blueprint for the perfect integration of offshore wind farms into the Dutch energy system, including 600 MW electrolyser capacity onshore with access to storage capacity in the planned onshore hydrogen backbone.
Hollandse Kust West VI: Innovations for net positive impact on biodiversity
Offshore innovation projects are a key element of RWE’s sustainability strategy. Innovations are also an integral part of the RWE bid for HKW site VI, such that this offshore wind farm will be built and operated in harmony with the ecosystem. RWE’s unique design concept for HKW VI will mitigate negative effects on flora and fauna – above and below sea level – whilst taking significant steps towards rewilding the North Sea. The company will build on its many years of research at existing offshore wind farms and projects that are currently under development and construction, such as Kaskasi in the German North Sea. Innovations, will be implemented to allow birds and bats to fly safely between the turbines and under the rotor swept area. Furthermore, RWE intends to rewild the area by adding artificial reefs and floating gardens. This will enhance the habitat, strengthen the food chain, and thereby benefit all species, such as birds, fish and sea mammals. Safeguarding the ecosystem is also a key issue during construction: to minimise disturbance from monopile foundation installation, RWE will make use of special vibro piling techniques.
A further key element of RWE’s bid is to drive knowledge leadership in North Sea ecology by investing in a comprehensive Research & Development (R&D) programme with leading partners. These will include top universities and research institutes from the Netherlands, and will foster local research on innovations and businesses, including the creation of many new research and PhD positions. In addition, RWE envisages to set up a comprehensive multi-technology monitoring system at HKW VI, and will share knowledge widely and freely to enable all stakeholders in offshore wind to do as much for ecology as possible – creating a so called ‘living lab’.
Hollandse Kust West VII: Blueprint for the Dutch energy system of the future
In order to address the challenges arising from matching fluctuating electricity production from renewables with flexible demand for energy, RWE has developed a blueprint for the integration of offshore wind farms into the Dutch energy system. The company wants to take a big step in the system integration of offshore wind. To this end, RWE will focus on combining the HKW VII offshore wind warm with 600 MW onshore electrolysers for green hydrogen production, supplying hydrogen and electricity to existing partners and new customers within Dutch industry. Furthermore, the company intends to integrate e-boilers for heating, battery storage and charging solutions for electric vehicles. Large parts of the investments are planned in the Groningen and Brabant areas in close collaboration with partners in those regions. In addition, RWE also plans to accelerate the commercial application of new technologies by supporting a vast amount of innovators and start-ups in demonstrating their innovation in an operational environment. The company’s ultimate goal is to perfectly match the demand for energy to the flexible generation profile of the wind farm, contributing to grid stability.
Partnership approach
The extensive solutions on system integration and ecology measures, research and knowledge sharing will be implemented together with more than 40 partners. This includes start-ups and innovators that RWE will support in demonstrating their innovation in an operational environment, as well as clients and industrial partners that the company will support in decarbonising their businesses with new flexible demand investments. Furthermore, RWE will cooperate with universities, educational centres of applied science and vocational schools with regard to knowledge sharing and dissemination.
A leading player in renewables with a strong footprint in the Netherlands
RWE is a leading global player in renewables and number 2 worldwide in offshore wind. The company currently has a total installed capacity of around 3 GW of offshore wind projects in operation, the wind farms Sofia (1.4 GW off the British coast) and Kaskasi (342 MW off the German coast) under construction, and a total of more than 10 GW secured capacities in development. For many years, RWE has been a partner to the Dutch government in driving forward the energy transition by investing in clean energy solutions. The Netherlands is one of the key markets where RWE wants to further expand its renewable energy portfolio. Here, RWE currently operates seven onshore wind farms with a total installed capacity of more than 330 MW (RWE’s pro-rata share) with more under development and construction, as well as solar farms including the floating solar project at Amer. RWE is also working on the expansion of CO2-free flexible production capacity as well as on the development of onshore and offshore hydrogen projects, such as H2opZee, NortH2 and FUREC, to help to decarbonise the industry.
