Dutch utility company Eneco and its Norwegian partner Equinor have announced their withdrawal from the 4GW offshore wind tender in the Dutch North Sea.
The tender, which opened in February, is for building permits at two sites within the IJmuiden Ver wind farm zone.
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The tender, which closed on 28 March, has been impacted by Eneco’s decision, as the company has been a significant supporter of offshore wind power development in the Netherlands over the past ten years.
In the Dutch portion of the North Sea, Eneco operates four offshore wind farms and is building a fifth.
Along with Equinor, it had intended to submit a bid for the new 4GW wind farm, which would be located over two sites 60 km off the Dutch coast.
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Eneco, however, has determined that the supply chain issues, increased raw material costs, uncertainty around the price and demand for power, and high borrowing rates have undermined the business case for a bid.
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By GlobalDataIt released a white paper detailing these concerns and its subsequent decision to not participate in the tender.
In the white paper, Eneco urged the Dutch government to re-evaluate the structure of its offshore wind tenders.
It criticised the current focus on the price offered by builders and suggested that the size of tenders should be limited to around 1GW to mitigate risks.
A government spokesman stated that while multiple builders had expressed interest in the project, it was uncertain how many bids would be submitted.
Reuters quoted Climate ministry spokesperson Noortje Beckers as saying: “We realise the market circumstances have changed since the tender was designed, complicating the business case.”
Despite Eneco’s withdrawal, the government remains committed to expanding the Dutch North Sea’s wind capacity from nearly 5GW to approximately 21GW by 2031.
