EZ invests in the FLOW innovation project for offshore wind power

Outgoing Minister Van der Hoeven of Economic Affairs today awarded a grant of 19.5 million Euros to the innovation project for Far and Large Offshore Wind (FLOW). This grant comes on top of an equal amount for the project already made known by the companies forming part of the FLOW Consortium.

The budget will be spent on the initial phase of the FLOW project. This concerns research into and development of efficient wind turbines in the North Sea and innovative funding concepts, maintenance strategies and installation techniques for wind farms in deeper waters and at a further distance from the coast. An additional part of this phase is the connection of these wind farms to the power grid.

Innovative strength

"The Minister is now putting her money where her mouth is. She is supporting the innovative strength of the Dutch business community in this area," said Peter Terium, CEO of Essent and chairman of the FLOW Consortium. "By doing this, the Minister is giving us the opportunity to expand the role of Dutch industry in the global growth market for the generation of wind power at sea."

Offshore wind power

"The unique public private collaboration in FLOW creates an opportunity for the Netherlands to take the lead in the offshore wind power market," said Dirk Jan van den Berg, chairman of the Executive Board at the TU Delft. "This governmental step will greatly influence the sustainable energy supply as well as the economy in the Netherlands."

Taskforce Wind power

By allocating this subsidy, the Minister is realising the recommendations which the Taskforce Wind power at Sea gave this month. The analyses carried out by the Innovation platform and the SER (Social and Economic Council) also emphasise the Dutch industry's favourable position in this field.

About FLOW

The FLOW project was started in September last year by Dutch companies and knowledge institutes RWE, Eneco, TenneT, Ballast Nedam, Van Oord, IHC Merwede, 2-B Energy, XEMC Darwind, ECN and the TU Delft. On that occasion, the partners formulated a business plan that enables the involved parties to take a leading position on the European market for offshore wind farms. In addition to the opportunities for the creation of extra employment, an additional interest of the Dutch Government is that the national objective of a wind power capacity of 6,000 megawatts at sea by 2020 comes within reach. The objective of executing the FLOW Plan is to achieve a cost reduction of 20% through Far Shore wind power by 2015 (relative to 2010).

The global knowledge about and experience with far shore wind farms situated in deep waters is still limited. The purpose of FLOW is to increase the reliability of these types of wind farms, to accelerate the development and, at the same time, to reduce the risks and costs. The total budget of 19,5 million Euros will be allocated to the first phase of the FLOW project, which will take shape over the next four years.

A central part of a subsequent phase would be a demonstration wind farm consisting of 20 to 60 wind turbines (100 to 300 megawatts). The new concepts that are developed as part of the FLOW project can be validated in this demonstration wind farm.

Published: 28 May 2010