Airtricity wins rights for second wind station in Dutch waters

Airtricity is on its way to developing a second offshore wind farm in the Netherlands after being awarded exclusive development rights by the Dutch government to a site known as Breeveertien II. The location allows for a capacity of 350 MW and lies 60 kilometres west of Ijmuiden in the North Sea. The water depths of between 19 and 25 metres are perfect for wind development, says Airtricity. The company will now work towards gaining construction consent. This will require public hearings and a review by an independent environmental committee. In November, Airtricity was granted site exclusivity for its first Dutch offshore project, the 284 MW West Rijn wind farm 40 kilometres off the coast at Scheveningen. "Development of this second offshore wind farm makes Airtricity one of the leading offshore wind developers in the Netherlands," says Airtricity's Arno Verbeek. Eddie O'Connor, Airtricity's CEO, adds that the Dutch offshore market, with a target of 6000 MW by 2020, is important for Airtricity and its dream of a "supergrid," an interlinked set of pan European subsea cables to take power to shore from offshore wind farms from the Mediterranean to the Bay of Biscay, Atlantic Ocean, North Sea and Baltic Sea. Airtricity expects to begin construction of Breevertien II in 2012.