Commercial Operations Full Power

Full commercial operations of Hollandse Kust West VIII is inferred at year-end 2035 from a chain of source-derived sequencing anchors. The 16 September 2025 Hermans Actieplan windenergie op zee (Minister van Klimaat en Groene Groei) states verbatim in footnote 4: "Aangezien TenneT geen verplichtingen is aangegaan voor de kavels Ten Noorden van de Waddeneilanden en Hollandse Kust West 8" — confirming TenneT has not yet entered supplier commitments for the HKW VIII net op zee, and HKW VIII is excluded from the binding 21 GW Routekaart-by-2032 commitment. The 25 April 2024 Jetten letter (Kamerstuk DGKE-DRE/52795804) ties the HKW VIII grid connection to the 150 kV Velsen station, whose availability is contingent on Tata Steel's electrification: "Deze netaansluiting zal naar verwachting na 2031 gerealiseerd worden". Tata Steel Nederland's 27 May 2024 announcement targets the DRP + EAF Phase 1 "to go into operation by as soon as 2030", with FID still pending at the 29 September 2025 Joint Letter of Intent stage; realistic Tata operational date is 2030-2031, after which Velsen capacity for HKW VIII becomes clear. Dutch tender-to-COD precedents for 700 MW fixed-bottom sites cluster around 4.5 years (HKW VI/VII tender Dec 2022 to COD 2027-early 2028; IJmuiden Ver Alpha tender 2024 to COD Q3 2029). Chain: Tata FID c. 2026 → Tata DRP operational c. 2030 → Velsen capacity clear c. 2027-2028 → HKW VIII tender c. 2028-2029 → award c. 2029-2030 → ~4.5 yr construction → first power c. 2034 → full COD c. 2035. Confidence is low; the projection will be revised once Tata FID lands and TenneT contracts the net op zee.