Grontmij and Pondera will draft environmental impact assessments and assessment studies for allotments III and IV of the offshore wind farm that is located just outside the 12-mile zone on the southern coast of the Netherlands. Studies will also be carried out for specification on an ‘innovation’ allotment; a separate plot decision will be taken for an area where innovations in turbines, foundations, construction methods and maintenance concepts can be piloted or tested.

The results of these studies will form an important basis for the Ministry’s call for tenders on the offshore III and IV lots scheduled for 2016. In 2014, Grontmij and Pondera Consult were responsible for the environmental impact assessment and assessment studies for allotments I and II.

Marc Kreft, Senior Project Manager of Grontmij in the Netherlands: ‘We are very pleased that our involvement and successful collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Rijkswaterstaat, the agency responsible for Dutch infrastructure, has been extended through this new assignment. It is a confirmation that the Ministry recognizes our extensive experience in offshore wind energy.’

Leading experts in energy

Energy is one of Grontmij’s four key focus areas, besides Water, Sustainable Buildings and Highways & Roads. Grontmij is well positioned within the European energy sector and will continue to grow its position in wind energy. Currently, Grontmij does project development of a windmill test site for the ‘Deutsche Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt’. In the UK, Grontmij in partnership with Skanska and Boskalis Offshore has developed a Gravity Base Substructure concept design suitable for the UK Round 3 and Scottish Territorial Waters offshore wind farm sites. 

Also in the UK, Grontmij acted as the Project Manager for Foundations of the Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA)programme for the Carbon Trust. This project was aimed at reducing the costs of offshore foundations and involved the development of 5-8 new platform concepts in water depths of 30-60 metres for multi-MW turbines. in participation with other partners. Further strenghtening its Offshore Wind credentials, Grontmij has also recently been awarded a 4 years framework contract advising the UK Governments' Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) on Offshore Wind and Marine Energy.

Background ‘Wind Energy on Sea’

In the Netherlands, the recently passed Offshore Wind Energy Bill facilitates acceleration and upscaling of offshore wind energy generation by making licencing more flexible. First, land allocation determines where and under what conditions an offshore wind farm can be developed but imposes no specific requirements on the type of generation technology. In selecting sites, the interests of and checks and balances for the natural environment are integrated into decision-making. Once land is allocated, there follows the tender process, licence grant and subsidy award. 

The Borssele offshore wind farm is the first project to be executed under the new Bill. In the coming years, around 1,400 MW of energy will be generated in the Borssele allocations. This will result in a large offshore wind farm with a surface area of 344 km2 off the southern coast of the Netherlands. This new area is 12 times the size of the largest existing wind farm in the Netherlands. The Bill is an important step towards achieving the European goal of generating at least 14% of a country’s energy through renewable and sustainable techniques by 2020.