December 24, 2018

BLIX Consultancy and Pondera Consult have carried out a study on the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE) of future offshore wind farm sites in the Netherlands.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate recently published the Roadmap for offshore wind energy 2030, calling for the deployment of an additional 7,000MW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 in several new zones: Hollandse Kust (west), Ten Noorden van de Waddeneilanden, and IJmuiden Ver.

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) awarded BLIX Consultancy & partners the study to investigate the LCoE of different variants for the wind farm site boundaries.

Sites with varying energy density (in MW per km2) were considered. The LCoE was modelled per individual turbine with yield simulations and a financial model based on recent market prices.

The results of this study were discussed by the ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Dutch wind industry. The tender of the first project in this study, the Hollandse Kust (west) is planned in 2020/2021.

Ben de Sonneville, a researcher at BLIX Consultancy, said: “The results reveal which site alternatives have lowest costs (LCoE) for wind farm development. Also, the study shows which factors (such as site orientation, water depth, wakes) influence the LCoE in each zone and which subareas are most economic for wind farm development.”