Dutch King Willem-Alexander recently joined the board members of Vattenfall, BASF and Allianz to officially inaugurate the Hollandse Kust Zuid 1-4 offshore wind farm, located in the North Sea off the Dutch coast.
The 1.5 GW development, which comprise 139 11 MW wind turbines, is one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world. Full operations are expected next year.
Several innovative techniques were used during the construction of Hollandse Kust, like a double bubble screen to dampen underwater noise during pile driving to limit the impact for harbor porpoises. Enlarged water replenishment holes in the foundations offer shelter for marine life inside the turbines, the first time the structure of a turbine itself is included in nature inclusive wind farm design.
Also, boulders and rocks of varying sizes were used during the construction of scour protection. At several scour protection sites, artificial rock reefs were added to make them more attractive to a wider number of fish, crabs and crustaceans.
Moreover, three of the turbines are fitted with recyclable blades: The resin used to “glue” blades together will be easier to dissolve after the working life of the turbines, making it easier to disassemble the blades and reuse the parts.
Two offshore substations connect Hollandse Kust Zuid to the Dutch grid. These grid connections have been developed and will be operated by Dutch Transmission System Operator TenneT.
The wind farm will be serviced out of the port of IJmuiden.
