Onshore Site Preparation

On 21 August 2025, TenneT commenced horizontal directional drilling (HDD) operations beneath the Veerse Gatdam in Kamperland, Zeeland, as an onshore preparatory works activity for the IJmuiden Ver Alpha (and parallel Nederwiek 1) offshore grid connection. The drilling campaign created seven underground passages that will subsequently house protective pipes for the 525 kV HVDC electricity cables being installed between the offshore converter platforms in the North Sea and the onshore converter station in the Sloegebied at Borssele. TenneT described the Veerse Gatdam HDD as a crucial step in constructing the underground links that will bring offshore wind power ashore, because the Veerse Gatdam is a sensitive dam structure separating the Veerse Meer from the sea that must be crossed by the cable route without surface disruption. The HDD drilling under the Veerse Gatdam is preparatory ducting work: it establishes the conduit infrastructure into which the power cables will be pulled during subsequent onshore cable installation campaigns from 2026 onwards. Classified as onshore_site_preparation (not main onshore construction) because it is a discrete long-lead HDD conduit-creation activity performed ahead of the main cable installation campaign rather than the start of the cable pulling itself.