TenneT has completed directional drilling beneath the beach and part of the seabed at Maasvlakte in the Netherlands. Nine plastic protective conduits have been installed in the boreholes to provide a protected route for the electricity cables from offshore wind farms. TenneT will now connect the conduits for the IJmuiden Ver Gamma and Nederwiek 2 wind farms to conduits previously installed from land beneath the dunes.
The connections will bring electricity from the IJmuiden Ver Beta, IJmuiden Ver Gamma and Nederwiek 2 wind farms in the North Sea to the Dutch high-voltage grid. Each wind farm will have a connection with a capacity of 2 GW, giving a combined capacity of 6 GW.
The water off Maasvlakte is too shallow for cable-laying vessels to approach the beach. The protective conduits therefore provide a route beneath the beach and part of the seabed through which the high-voltage cables can be installed between the sea and land.
From the beach, the electricity will travel through underground cables to three converter stations at Maasvlakte. The power will then be converted for transmission through the national high-voltage grid. Via the new 380 kV Amaliahaven substation, it will be fed into the national grid and supplied to consumers in the Rotterdam port area.
The first electricity from the IJmuiden Ver Beta wind farm is expected to come ashore at Maasvlakte in 2029.
