First power sent to grid from 1.5-GW Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm

The 1.5-GW Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) offshore wind farm in Dutch waters has generated power from its first turbine and successfully sent it to the grid, Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall AB said on Tuesday.

Vattenfall is developing the HKZ offshore wind farm alongside German companies BASF SE (ETR:BAS) and Allianz Capital Partners. The subsidy-free complex will be located 18km-35km off the Dutch coast in the North Sea and is planned to be fully operational in 2023.

At present, 33 out of 140 Siemens Gamesa turbines of 11 MW each have been erected at the project site. Vattenfall and its partners initiated construction works in the summer of 2021.

Once up and running, the HKZ park will be capable of generating enough electricity to supply around 1.5 million Dutch homes. In June, French industrial gases supplier Air Liquide committed to buying electricity from a 115-MW portion of the capacity, or 500 GWh of the huge complex’s annual power generation.

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