Ecowende, the joint venture between oil and gas major Shell Plc (AMS:SHELL) and utility Eneco, has won the right to build a 760-MW offshore wind park at Hollandse Kust West (HKW) lot VI in Dutch waters, the partners announced on Thursday.
Shell and Eneco said in a joint statement that they have already taken the final investment decision (FID) for this project and anticipate commissioning the facility in 2026.
Ecowende will construct the wind park some 53 kilometres from the Dutch coast, off IJmuiden, with “a minimal impact on nature.” More specifically, it plans to erect the turbines extra far apart in order to establish a corridor for birds, use innovative foundation techniques to minimise the impact on marine mammals and marine life, and boost biodiversity by placing natural reef structures on the seabed. In addition, it will cooperate with a group of scientists and experts to learn more about the ecological impact of offshore wind.
Shell and Eneco were targeting both site VI and site VII of the HKW zone but the latter was awarded to Germany’s RWE AG last month.
Source: renewablesnow
