No Applications for Construction of New Offshore Wind Farm in the North Sea

No applications have been received for the construction of a new offshore wind farm in the North Sea.

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) has received no applications for the construction and operation of a new offshore wind farm in the North Sea, at the Nederwiek I-A site. Due to rising costs and lower electricity demand than previously expected, the development of offshore wind energy is under pressure. The Ministry of Climate and Sustainable Growth (KGG) had already anticipated that there might be no applications. A new permit round will take place in 2026, incorporating measures from an action plan.

No Surprise

In recent years, the offshore wind energy market has grown rapidly. Through innovation and scaling, offshore wind farms have been built without subsidies since 2018. However, the offshore wind energy market has changed quickly and significantly. Costs for wind farm developers have increased. Additionally, the sustainability transition of, among others, the Dutch industry is slower than expected. This has made it more difficult for wind farm developers to secure long-term power purchase agreements before construction. As a result, their willingness to invest has decreased.

This trend is also seen in other European countries such as Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Belgium. There, too, no applications were received for permits or permit rounds were postponed due to limited market interest. For the Nederwiek I-A site, the application requirements were already adjusted to current market conditions to make this permit round more attractive.

Offshore Wind Energy Action Plan

The ministry had already anticipated that there might be no applications for the Nederwiek I-A site. Therefore, on Budget Day 2025, the Minister of Climate and Sustainable Growth presented the Offshore Wind Energy Action Plan. This plan includes measures to financially support the construction of new wind farms. It also provides solutions to further stimulate demand for offshore wind energy.
The cabinet is taking action to prevent the development of offshore wind farms from stalling next year:

In 2026, the cabinet aims to issue permits for 2 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind farms through a subsidy tender. €948 million has already been reserved from the Climate Fund. The minister will announce by January 2026 which wind sites this applies to, the schedule, and the final maximum subsidy amount for the tender.
The ministry is also working on a new form of financial support for wind energy. The government will enter contracts with companies guaranteeing a minimum price for their generated electricity. The government will pay the difference to the company when market prices are low. When electricity prices are high, the extra profit goes to the government.

These steps help us become more energy independent from other countries, improve the competitiveness of our industry, and provide our country with clean energy that further reduces CO₂ emissions.