Wind & water works

Dutch innovation to support global offshore wind ambitions
For the Dutch, working at sea is in the blood. For centuries, our companies have worked offshore, gaining a deep understanding of the specific conditions above and below sea level that can make or break a project. That experience means the Netherlands is home to some of the most successful and innovative offshore wind businesses, maritime companies, and research institutes in the world. Our supply chain is a strong one with global reach and it's here to help you develop your own offshore wind industry with confidence.

In the Netherlands, the Government has taken on the task of developing offshore wind energy in the Dutch North Sea itself. It has introduced a stable policy environment with clear project pipelines. There are flexible rules and regulations in place.

High-quality site data is provided by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) to prospective developers of designated wind farm sites. Transmission system operator, TenneT, is responsible for all grid connection infrastructure. Meantime, Rijkswaterstaat grants consents for wind farm sites and monitors environmental impact .

This approach provides greater certainty for developers, increases investor confidence, and has been proven to foster innovation and drive down overall costs for offshore wind projects.

Cost-effective long-term goals

Our commitment to offshore wind acceleration in the Netherlands presents significant challenges as well as opportunities. Government, industry and other stakeholders are, however, successfully working together to ensure both our short-term ambitions and our longer-term 2050 goals can be cost-effectively achieved.

Key to this is our strong focus on qualitative criteria, including effective system integration, ecological initiatives, and the use of offshore wind farms to produce green hydrogen as well as electricity in the future.

International Partnerships

Combined, this array of Dutch private and public sector expertise can provide international neighbours with the right solutions for offshore wind in different site conditions around the world. We have proven experience working in the global wind industry to support its growth in a proactive, sustainable, and successful way and we are willing to share the lessons learned.

Through this wind & water works gateway, our aim is to share this expertise and forge strong international partnerships to ensure the successful development of the offshore wind sector around the world. We are ready, willing, and able to work with you, so let's connect to maximise the full global potential of offshore wind.

Watch our video here to learn more about our public-private cooperation for wind energy. Contact us now and together we can show just how much can be achieved when wind and water works!

Public Private Partnership

The wind & water works portal has been developed by the Dutch Government (represented by Netherlands Enterprise Agency/RVO) in close consultation with the branch organisations active in the offshore wind energy sector NWEA, NMT, IRO and HHWE. As per 1 January 2021 RVO has handed over the lead in the further development of the portal to these four branch organisations. NWEA acts as overall project coordinator.

In this public private partnership, the associated trade organisations and the Dutch Government actively promote the portal and its partners amongst their international networks. This makes it an excellent supporting and branding tool for collective exposure and promotion, whilst international stakeholders have easy access to relevant information and contacts in the Dutch wind sector via one complete and comprehensive portal.

The Dutch Approach

Wind & water works reflects the expertise and innovative approach of Dutch companies and government in the field of offshore wind energy.

Today, 4.5 GW of offshore wind capacity is either installed or under construction in the Dutch North Sea. Under our latest Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap, the Netherlands is now aiming for 21 GW to be operating by around 2030/31. Looking even further ahead, the Netherlands is expected to need between 38 GW and 72 GW of operational offshore wind power by 2050 to achieve our net zero ambition and work is already underway to see how this can be achieved.

Read more about Dutch offshore wind plans and policy

How can we help?

Get in touch with us! Are you interested to learn more about the Dutch Approach?

Feel free to contact us and we are happy to tell you more!

Partners for International Business

The Partners for International Business (PIB) program allows Dutch businesses to enter into a public-private partnership with the Dutch government in order to realise international ambitions.

Currently, we have PIB programmes in place for Taiwan, USA, Ireland, Poland and the Baltic States.

Read more