Ecowende’s 760MW Hollandse Kust West offshore wind farm, developed by a joint venture of Shell, Chubu Electric Power and Eneco, has been connected to TenneT's offshore grid in the Netherlands and has delivered its first green electricity.
The wind farm, situated 53km off the Dutch coast, comprises 52 turbines with a capacity of 15MW each.
Ecowende’s wind farm connects to the Dutch mainland through TenneT’s offshore high-voltage system.
TenneT developed and operated the offshore grid connection, delivering the wind farm’s electricity to shore in cooperation with Ecowende, government ministries and coastal authorities.
TenneT Netherlands operations head Robin van Buchem said: “Connecting the Ecowende wind farm to our offshore grid is another milestone in building the renewable energy infrastructure the Netherlands needs.
“TenneT is proud to play its part in bringing this clean power from the North Sea to Dutch homes and businesses.”
Offshore construction commenced in December 2025, beginning with the installation of the first monopile.
Full commercial electricity generation is targeted for completion by the end of 2026.
Ecowende commissioning manager Ekansh Aggarwal said: “We are delighted to produce the first green electrons from the Ecowende wind farm.
“We often talk about milestones along a project’s journey, and Ecowende has many firsts to date, but to see the turbines spinning and to have reached first power safely and successfully is a great achievement for everyone involved in the project.”
When the wind farm reaches full commissioning, it is projected to produce 3.3TW-hours of renewable energy annually. The power will supply around 3% of the Netherlands’ overall electricity needs.
Eneco Wind Offshore Operations will handle the day-to-day operations and maintenance (O&M) of the wind park.
Electricity trading for the project is managed by Next Kraftwerke, SEEL and EET, with trading activities having commenced on 4 July 2026.
Next Kraftwerke also provides balancing and congestion services across day-ahead, intraday and balancing energy markets on behalf of Ecowende.
Ecowende’s project also contributes to grid stability by providing balancing energy including automatic negative frequency reserve, which is designed to help compensate for power fluctuations in the system.
