Copyright offshore-energy
Dutch transmission system operator (TSO) TenneT has completed its 700 MW offshore grid connection program with the grid readiness certification now in place for the Hollandse Kust West Beta connection, the company said on October 28. The certification marks the completion of the last three 700 MW Hollandse Kust offshore grid connections in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. Each installation links a designated offshore wind farm zone to the mainland electricity network, enabling the transfer of renewable power once the wind farms become operational. TenneT said Hollandse Kust West Beta received its official grid readiness declaration after final testing and certification procedures were completed. The certificate confirms that the offshore grid connection is technically ready to transmit electricity and can be connected and commissioned once its designated offshore wind farm is at that stage. The offshore grid will connect the OranjeWind wind farm, owned by RWE and TotalEnergies, to the Dutch national grid. The project will have an installed capacity of 795 MW and a grid connection capacity of 760 MW. The additional 35 MW is reserved to optimise connection efficiency, even when production is lower, according to the developers. Construction on OranjeWind will start in 2026, with wind turbine installation work scheduled to start in early 2027 and wind farm commissioning expected to be fully completed by the end of that same year. Last year, TotalEnergies entered into an agreement with RWE to acquire a 50% stake in OranjeWind, with plans to use its share of the electricity from the offshore wind farm to power 350 MW of electrolyser projects and produce about 40,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually. For TenneT, with this milestone, the TSO has finalized its series of 700 MW standard AC grid connections, developed to accelerate offshore wind expansion and streamline the process through standardisation. The design allows repeatable construction, faster permitting, and predictable costs across multiple projects, the company said. The grid operator described the completion of the 700 MW program as an important step toward the Netherlands’ offshore wind targets and as the foundation for the next phase of offshore grid development, the new 2 GW connection standard. “With grid readiness for Hollandse Kust (West Beta), we’ve now delivered all seven projects on time and budget, entirely according to our plan. A significant milestone for the energy transition”, said Marco Kuijpers, Director of Offshore at TenneT. With the new 2 GW standard, new offshore wind farms will be connected using direct current (DC) technology because they will be located further offshore, and DC connections ensure lower energy losses over longer distances than AC connections. “The new 2 GW standard enables us to transport large quantities of sustainable energy more efficiently from sea to land, using fewer cables and platforms. This saves time and resources and minimizes the ecological impact. Between now and 2032, we will build thirteen of these new connections in the Dutch and German North Seas. This way, we are continuing our journey towards a clean, stable, and independent energy supply for the future”, said Martin Gelling, Financial Project Director at TenneT.
