Pondera congratulates Shell and Eneco on winning tender for offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust (west) VI

Pondera congratulates Shell and Eneco on winning the permit to build an offshore wind farm on Hollandse Kust (west) lot VI. With their joint venture Ecowinde, they will build a wind farm with minimal impact on nature. Pondera collaborated with Eneco and Shell on the ecology criterion for this tender and is proud to have participated in the preparation of the tender offer.

The farm will be located some 53 kilometres off the Dutch coast, off IJmuiden. The wind farm will have an installed capacity of about 760 MW. That is enough to decarbonise about 3% of the current Dutch electricity demand. Shell and Eneco have already taken the final investment decision for this wind farm. Ecowende plans to commission the Hollandse Kust (west) VI offshore wind farm in 2026.

Minimal impact on nature

The guiding principle in design and construction is to have as little impact as possible on on birds, bats and underwater marine life. This includes:

• creating a corridor for birds by placing the wind turbines extra far apart;
• using innovative foundation techniques that minimise the impact on marine mammals and marine life;
• placing natural reef structures on the seabed to boost biodiversity; and
• together with a group of scientists and experts, implementing and evaluating dozens of innovative solutions for the currently missing knowledge on the ecological impact of offshore wind.

Ecowende aims to set a new ecological benchmark for the development and construction of wind farms in the North Sea and to enable offshore wind farms to have a net positive impact on nature in the future. This is important because there are major ambitions for offshore wind. Acceleration is needed in a way that contributes to nature both above and below the water. More details on the investments, innovations and research programmes will be announced at a later stage.

Source: Eneco