News item | 16-09-2025 | 15:35
Wind energy of the North Sea remains the driving force behind the Dutch energy transition. The production of wind farms at sea has increased considerably in recent years and the Netherlands has great ambitions to further expand this. This is important to become less dependent on other countries and to switch to more sustainable energy up close. Due to increasing costs and uncertainty, the construction of new wind farms at sea will stand still in many countries. With the ‘Action Plan Wind Energy at Sea’, the government is taking measures to prevent this in the Netherlands. For example, the cabinet reserves almost € 1 billion from the Climate Fund to support the construction of 2 gigawatts of new wind farms in the coming year (there is now 4.7 Gigawatt of wind farms at sea).
Minister Hermans, Climate and Green Growth: “In various places in the world and in Europe, the sector has rising costs, rising interest rates and uncertainty about sufficient demand. This ensures that the pace of the rollout of wind farms at sea is lower than in recent years. Without intervention, the roll -out of wind farms will be in extra life. From this way the next cabinet can quickly make choices. “
The action plan contains two solutions to be able to continue the rollout of wind energy at sea: 1. Stimulating the construction of wind farms at sea (supply stimulation) and 2. Stimulating the development of electricity demand (demand stimulation). In the short term, in addition to the subsidy for next year, the demand side has also been worked on and the cabinet is renewing the indirect costs Compensation (IKC-ETS) scheme for industry by one year to 2028 to make the electricity costs competitive. There will be € 150 million for this. made available. This improves the future business case for wind farms at sea.
For the longer term, the government is preparing a bill to make Contracts for Difference (CFD) possible: wind pear owners then receive a subsidy if the income is low and pay to the state if the electricity prices are high. The action plan also describes the elaboration of a guarantee fund to support the conclusion of long -term electricity contracts and it is being explored whether wind farm builders can get more time for delivery. The government is also investigating whether the future wind farm north of the Wadden Islands can be added to the wind energy area Doorwind – which leads to higher yields per turbine and better utilization of the infrastructure. Finally, the action plan provides options for the next cabinet.