Positive
Project advancing - milestone achieved
High Impact
Major milestone or critical setback
On 19 March 2018, Vattenfall was awarded the permit for the Hollandse Kust Zuid I & II offshore wind farm sites by the Dutch government, winning the world's first zero-subsidy offshore wind tender. The award covered the rights to develop up to ~760 MW of offshore wind capacity in kavels I and II of the Hollandse Kust (zuid) wind energy area, with no requirement for direct exploitation subsidy. Under the Wet windenergie op zee tender rules, the permit obliged Vattenfall to construct and commission the wind farm within five years of the permit becoming irrevocable. The award followed a competitive tender against multiple international developers and was widely framed as a landmark moment for the offshore wind industry, marking the commercial maturity of the technology. Vattenfall subsequently won the matching tender for kavels III & IV in July 2019, consolidating the full 1.5 GW Hollandse Kust Zuid development under a single developer.