Swedish energy company Vattenfall has started construction work on the 1.5GW Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm in the Netherlands.
Hollandse Kust Zuid will be located almost 18km off the coast of The Hague and Zandvoort.
Construction work began with the installation of monopile foundations.
The company said that each foundation has been specifically designed for the location where it will be installed.
The monopiles will be installed in water depths ranging from 17m to 28m. The first vessel carrying the foundations has started making its way to the project site.
Vattenfall Netherlands CEO Martijn Hagens said: “With the construction of the first subsidy-free offshore wind farm in the world, we are starting a new chapter, demonstrating that this market is becoming mature.
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By GlobalData“I am extremely proud of the step we’re now taking, bringing Dutch households and our industrial partners another step closer to fossil-free living.”
The facility will be equipped with 140 wind turbines and generate fossil-free energy for households, businesses and industrial partners in the Netherlands.
Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm project director Ian Bremner said: “Over the next few months, we will install dozens of foundations.
“During the winter, there is a scheduled break, as sea and weather conditions are often too poor to work safely. Early next year, construction will resume and we will install the remaining foundations followed by inter-array cables and turbines.
“The first turbines are currently scheduled to be commissioned early next year, with all turbines expected [to come] online by mid-2023.”
BASF said that it will use a portion of the clean energy produced at Hollandse Kust Zuid to implement innovative, low-emission technologies at several of its other production sites in Europe.
Last month, Germany-based chemical company BASF agreed to acquire a 49.5% stake in the offshore wind farm for €300m ($358m).