Dutch Watchdog Okays Offshore Grid Connection EIR

The Netherlands commission for environmental assessment has issued a positive recommendation on the Environmental Impact Report of the Hollandse Kust (noord) and the Hollandse Kust (west Alpha) grid connections.

Pondera Consult, together with Arcadis, provided the EIR and the necessary studies.

The Hollandse Kust (noord) wind farm will be located about 18.5 kilometers offshore. The Hollandse Kust (west Alpha) is situated about 50 kilometers offshore. The cable route will run from the Hollandse Kust (north) offshore platform via one route to the coast.

Hollandse Kust (noord) and the Hollandse Kust (west Alpha) grid connections will have 700MW capacity each and are scheduled to be commissioned in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The offshore grid connections will be built and operated by TenneT.

The tenders for the onshore platform, sea and land cables, and the offshore platforms are expected in 2019. The contract awards are slated for the first quarter of 2020, with the construction activities expected to start the same year.