In its proposal submitted to the Dutch government, Noordzeker laid out plans to have more than 75 per cent of the wind turbines acting as artificial reefs that will provide a protected habitat for, among other things, reef-building sand tube worms and various types of fish.
To this end, Noordzeker will also collaborate with Naturalis, the Dutch research institute for biodiversity, with which the consortium signed an agreement in October 2023.
According to the government’s press release from June, Noordzeker will announce more details about other investments, innovations and research programmes no later than six months after the permit has become irrevocable – which has now started with the consortium’s confirmation to continue with the project.
As explained by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy last month , the winning bidders had four weeks to provide a bank guarantee or a deposit of EUR 200 million, confirming their commitment to develop the projects. Once they do so, the developers are then obliged to build the wind farms and make the other investments detailed in their bids.
Located about 62 kilometres off IJmuiden, the IJmuiden Ver Alpha project would be capable of generating enough offshore wind energy annually to meet around 7 per cent of the current Dutch electricity demand, according to Noordzeker.
The project marks the first-ever offshore wind farm SSE is building in the Netherlands.
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