Wind energy capacity, 1990-2022

Wind capacity increased in 2022

The total wind capacity in the Netherlands was 8.8 thousand megawatts by the end of 2022. This is a 14 percent increase compared to 2021. The growth is mainly due to an increase in the onshore capacity. The onshore capacity grew from 5,214 to 6,185 megawatt. At sea, the newly installed capacity was 110 megawatt. The total offshore wind capacity amounted to 2,570 megawatt by the end of 2022.

Most wind turbines in Flevoland

Looking at the spatial distribution of onshore wind turbines, it is clear that most are located in the coastal provinces. This is not surprising, given the fact that the wind blows more frequently in coastal areas. However, the wind resource is not the only factor to be taken into consideration in the positioning of wind turbines. Ideas about the way in which they fit into the surrounding landscape also play an important part and this explains why, despite the fact that it is not the most suitable province in terms of wind resource (Geertsema and van den Brink, 2014), most wind turbines are found in the province of Flevoland. 

Plans for onshore wind turbines

The Dutch government has projected an overall onshore wind capacity of 6,000 megawatts for 2020, including existing wind turbines (EL&I, 2011). In June 2013, an agreement was reached about the distribution of the 6,000 MW across the Dutch provinces. This target was achieved by the end of 2022.
Onshore wind capacity also contributes to the National Climate Agreement target to have at least 35 terawatt hours of onshore renewable electricity (wind and large-scale solar energy installations > 15 kilowatt) by the end of 2030. The regional contributions to the national target are specified in the Regional Energy Strategies (RES) formulated by municipalities, provinces and water boards. 

Offshore wind farms

The first offshore wind farm, Egmond aan Zee (108 megawatt), became operational in 2006, and was followed by Prinses Amalia (120 megawatt) in 2008, Luchterduinen (129 megawatt) in 2015, and Gemini (600 megawatt) in 2016. In 2020 wind farm Borssele (752 megawatt) was realised. 
Offshore wind turbines produce more electricity per unit of capacity than onshore wind turbines. However, offshore wind turbines are much more expensive. All in all, therefore, electricity generated from offshore wind turbines used to be more expensive than that from onshore wind turbines (Lensink, 2013). This has changed in recent years, however: in 2018 and 2019 permits were granted for the first subsidy-free offshore wind farm in the world, Hollandse Kust Zuid. The first turbines in this farm started producing electricity in 2022
By the end of 2022, the total capacity of offshore wind turbines in the Netherlands was 2.6 gigawatts. Offshore wind farms accounted for 39 percent of all wind energy produced in the Netherlands in 2022.

Plans for offshore wind farms

The Dutch Energy Agreement (SER, 2013) included an objective with respect to offshore wind farms of a planned total of 4.5 gigawatt in 2023. In June 2022 a new target was set: 21 gigawatt of offshore wind energy by 2030. This would cover around 75 percent of the current electricity consumption in the Netherlands. 
In 2023 there are three offshore wind farms under construction: Hollandse Kust Zuid (1.5 gigawatt), Hollandse Kust Noord (0.7 gigawatt), and Hollandse Kust West (1.4 gigawatt). With the so-called Noordzeeloket the national government provides an overview of the (expected) development of wind farms at sea.

Normalization of wind energy production figures

The development of wind energy production is measured based on normalized figures. The production of wind energy depends on the wind supply, which may vary substantially from year to year. These fluctuations obscure the view on structural developments. To filter out these fluctuations, normalization procedures for wind energy have been defined in the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive.