$10bn costs hike shock hits Dutch offshore wind grid plans
Floating solar among measures proposed by Netherlands energy minister to counteract impact of soaring price of connecting turbine fleet
Plans for an offshore grid to match the Netherlands' massive build programme of North Sea wind turbines have been rocked as it was revealed that expected costs have jumped by more than a third to €35.5bn ($37.5bn).
Energy minister Rob Jetten said in a letter to the Dutch parliament that the expected costs of building that grid from 2032 to 2057 had risen dramatically from the €26bn previously expected.
The latest estimation was based on figures provided by electricity transmission system operator TenneT.
The Netherlands has some of the world’s most ambitious offshore wind targets, with goals of 21GW by the end of the decade and 70GW by 2050. Jetten said the country is on track to reach 4.5GW of offshore wind on time and within budget by the end of the year.
On how to counteract rising prices, Jetten suggested granting permits up to 40 years in length, which he said could lower annual depreciation costs.
He suggested generating solar energy at sea to optimise use of the grid, given that the sun and wind are largely complementary with North Sea gusts often peaking at dawn and dusk, encouraging a 50MW demonstration project to see if it could work.
Jetten also proposed changing regulations to ensure that, given the high electricity prices caused by the war in Ukraine, curtailment payments to wind farm operators do not exceed their lost profits.
The Dutch government is also planning to make sure that the benefits and burdens of an internationally connected North Sea grid are shared equally with neighbouring countries, he said.
He flagged the possibility of basing cost distribution of hybrid connections on how much each country benefits from the connection – including in the Dutch deal with the UK.
Finally, he said that the Dutch government expects that wind energy generated at sea could in the future be converted into hydrogen and transported back to land this way. This could save costs as he said it may be cheaper to transport hydrogen back to land rather than build more grid, because fewer connections are needed.
He added that the Netherlands is currently working on two demonstration projects for hydrogen production at sea so that further scaling up from 2030 is possible.
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