SSE Renewables has announced plans to enter bids into the upcoming tenders for the 1.4GW Hollandse Kust (west) Wind Farm Zone in the Netherlands which are set to take place in the first half of 2022.
On 23 December 2021 the Dutch Government issued revised draft Ministerial Orders which included tender assessment criteria for the permits to develop the two individual 700MW sites within the Zone. The detail of the application process is due to be published shortly and the window for tender submissions is scheduled between 14 April and 12 May 2022, with winners announced in the summer. The two tenders have a clear focus on innovation, with half of the points-based system for successful bidders being allocated to this category.
If successful, the Hollandse Kust (west) Projects would form part of SSE Plc’s recently published Net Zero Acceleration Programme, which included fully funded £12.5 billion strategic capital investment plans to 2026 alongside 2031 targets, aligned with 1.5 degree science based targets. The plans for renewables include an increase of 4GW of renewables installed capacity (net) over the 5 years to 2026, doubling installed renewables capacity to 8GW (net). This provides a platform for new 2031 targets including a fivefold increase in renewables output to 50TWh, maintaining a sustained renewables pipeline in excess of 15GW, and a trebling of SSE’s owned renewables capacity to over 13GW (net) from 4GW today. If SSE Renewables is successful in the tenders, the Hollandse Kust (west) Projects are expected to be commissioned in 2025-2026.