The Economic Mission during the State Visit of Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima focuses on 8 important- and innovative sectors. Within these sectors we see opportunities to reinforce the French-Dutch collaboration. During our countdown to the Economic Mission, we will briefly discuss the 8 key sectors and the relevance of these sectors for both the Netherlands and France. This week we’ll take a closer look at “Offshore wind”.

The Netherlands is one of the countries that is already exploiting offshore wind in the North Sea. Current installed capacity is almost 1 GW. The target for 2023 is 4,5 GW. By then, the Netherlands, after the UK and Germany, will have the largest offshore wind capacity in Europe. In the Netherlands, policy is in place for the development of the additional 3,5 GW in the coming years. The wind farms will be developed by subsequent tenders of 700 MW each. The Dutch government follows a unique approach where the government takes the lead in site designation and preparation, and the issuance of tenders for both permit and subsidy. The tenders are open for interested parties from all over the world. For more info click here.

The Netherlands are suitably located at the North Sea and have a long tradition in offshore operations and renewable energy. Dutch industry therefore has a strong position in the ongoing offshore wind development in the North Sea, with involvement of Dutch companies in practically all offshore wind farms in Europe. Dutch companies are active in all parts of the supply chain, and are amongst others advanced in site surveys, foundations, balance of plant, installation and O&M. Several Dutch companies are market leader in Europe, such as Van Oord, Tennet, SIF, VBMS and Seaway Heavy Lifting.

The Netherlands is also active in innovation and research with leading universities and institutes like TU Delft, ECN, Marin and Deltares. Innovation is steered by the TKI Wind op Zee (Top consortium for Knowledge and Innovation Offshore Wind) that has been installed by the Dutch government to facilitate the cooperation between government, universities, institutes and industry. Ambition is to reduce costs for offshore wind by 40% in 2020. The TKI Wind op Zee also hosts a supply chain database of Dutch organisations active in offshore wind. The offshore wind sector in the Netherlands is well organised with several associations that represent industry and assist them in international cooperation, i.e. www.nwea.nl, www.hhwe.eu and www.cleantechholland.com