The companies will construct and operate the Dutch offshore wind farm through their JV, Ecowende, with an aim to bring it online in 2026
Shell and Eneco win tender to develop the Hollandse Kust (west) VI offshore wind farm. (Credit: Eneco)
Shell and Dutch energy company Eneco have won the tender to develop a 760MW offshore wind farm at Hollandse Kust (west) lot VI, offshore the Netherlands.
Through their joint venture (JV), Ecowende, the companies will construct and operate the Dutch offshore wind farm, with an aim to bring it online in 2026.
To be located nearly 53km off the Dutch coast from the city of IJmuiden, the Hollandse Kust (west) VI offshore wind farm is expected to decarbonise approximately 3% of the country’s current electricity need.
The two companies have already made the final investment decision on the project.
Shell integrated gas, renewables and energy solutions director Wael Sawan said: “With Ecowende, we will take a huge step in growing our offshore wind portfolio while making a positive contribution to biodiversity.
“Through this project we can profitably accelerate the large-scale roll-out of offshore wind in the Netherlands and beyond. This fits well with Shell’s Powering Progress strategy to deliver more and cleaner energy to our customers, at home, on the road and at work.”
With a goal of setting a new ecological standard for the development of wind farms in the North Sea, Ecowende plans to erect the wind turbines far apart and utilise new foundation techniques.
Eneco chief strategic growth officer Kees-Jan Rameau said: “Together with Shell, we were at the forefront of the development of offshore wind in the Netherlands. We gained a lot of knowledge, also in the area of ecology, and reported on this.
“This has contributed to the further development of offshore wind in recent years. It is great that we are now moving into a new phase with Ecowende, with nature as the starting point. This is entirely in line with our ambition to live and act within the natural limits of the planet.”
In a separate announcement, Shell’s subsidiary Shell Energy Europe has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Octopus Energy Group to sell the latter energy produced by the 3.6GW Dogger Bank offshore wind farm project.
Shell Energy Europe has agreements in place to offtake 20% of the power produced by Dogger Bank. It will in turn supply up to 2.4TWh of wind energy annually to Octopus Energy once the project is fully operational.
The offshore wind project is a JV partnership between SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Vårgrønn.