RWE has won the bid and been granted permission to erect Hollandse Kust West (HKW) VII, a sizable offshore wind farm. Offshore wind power and electrolyzer capacity will be combined in HKW VII to produce green hydrogen.
About 53 kilometers off the coast of the Netherlands, the site is situated in the North Sea. RWE will be able to produce more than 760 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind energy on the site, which is sufficient to power roughly one million Dutch homes. RWE’s design for HKW VII offers options for the best integration of offshore wind farms into the Dutch energy grid, according to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).
The ultimate aim of RWE is to contribute to grid stability by properly matching the energy demand to the flexible generation profile of offshore wind farms. The HKW VII idea combines offshore wind with electrolyser capacity for green hydrogen production, as well as other flexible demand solutions like e-boilers and battery storage, to enable full system integration. In order to make better use of ocean space, RWE also intends to pair the HKW VII offshore wind farm with floating solar panels.
Within five years of the permission becoming irrevocable, the wind farm is anticipated to be fully operational. Then it can help the Netherlands reach its ambitious offshore wind build-out goals, which call for 21 gigawatts (GW) of power by 2030 and 70 GW by 2050.
