Reading Time: 2 minutes
BP submitted bids to two offshore wind leases in Netherlands. Together they have the potential to generate 1.4GW. These bids are part of a broad and transformative plan for bp to make further clean energy investments in the Netherlands. It will use its experience and breadth to help support the country’s decarbonisation goals.
The tender process to develop the Hollandse Kust Wind Farm Zone (HKW), sites VI and VII was won by bp. HKW is approximately 53 km from the country’s West Coast and includes two wind farms sites with a combined area of 176 kilometres.
Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath is bp’s executive Vice President of Gas and Low Carbon Energy. She stated: “Delivering an net zero future requires more than just generating offshore renewable power – we must create an integrated energy system that has renewables at its center. The Netherlands is a good place to do that”.
We will use bp’s integrated company strategy for green energy supply and consumption across the entire energy system. This includes the use of offshore wind power to electrify industry, and mobility. Also, renewable power can be used to make green hydrogen. This will help decarbonize difficult-to-electrify industries such as aviation and refining, as well as heavy-duty transport. These developments in clean energy support the Netherlands’ ambitious emission reduction goals.
“We will also deploy innovative technology to support an unprecedented scale, scope and monitoring and analysis to create step change in collaborative marine ecology research in accordance with our goal to have a positive effect on the North Sea’s ecosystem.”
Site VI bids will be evaluated based on eco-innovation criteria. BP proposes innovative solutions to improve the Dutch North Sea ecosystem. This bid represents an unprecedented level of innovation, with almost EUR75 million in committed spend to make a positive effect on the marine habitat. It will also support advanced ecosystem data analysis. The new Netherlands’ North Sea Offshore Wind Ecological Innovation Centre will allow for further collaboration and research.
Site VII bids will be evaluated based on system integration criteria. BP’s bid focuses primarily on coupling offshore wind power with new, flexible demand, with a focus on the Rotterdam area. The bid, subject to award, proposes to combine the wind farms with:
- 500MW electrolysis will produce 50,000 tons a year green hydrogen to satisfy BP’s Rotterdam refinery demands and support 10,000 barrels per day production of sustainable aviation fuel.
- A new electric-powered boiler and superheat for the bp Rotterdam refinery. Also, a utility-scale battery to help with the integration of the assets.
- Newly-developed flexible electric vehicle charging stations for vehicles with integrated batteries, low-carbon multi-energy logistics hubs and demand shifting solutions.
These investments also include additional digital grid optimization and stabilization solutions that will match the HKW’s wind power output with the demand for power. To meet local demand for these skills, BP will create a skills and entrepreneurial incubator. BP expects to invest up to EUR2Billion in the decarbonization and flexible demand, as well as offshore wind investments.