This concerns the construction of wind farms IJmuiden Ver Alpha and IJmuiden Ver Beta. Both must have a capacity of 2 gigawatts. Together this produces enough energy to power 4 million households.
The outgoing cabinet wants to focus heavily on making electricity energy more sustainable, which is why more wind farms need to be built. The aim is to generate approximately 21 gigawatts of electricity from offshore wind farms by 2030.
Focus too much on the highest bidder
But Eneco will in any case not participate in the construction of the two newest wind farms. According to the energy company, the focus in determining who can build the parks is too much on the highest bidder.
Previously, it was more important that as a company you came up with a high-quality plan. A plan that also contributes to, for example, the recovery of the seabed.
But now you can win the bidding war by simply bidding the highest amount. The higher the bid, the greater the chance that you will be allowed to build the parks. According to Eneco, these costs are ultimately passed on to the user, whose energy bill will increase as a result.
In addition, Eneco says that the costs of building wind farms have risen considerably. For example, prices for copper and steel have risen and there is uncertainty about the price for which the company can sell the electricity.
The demand for wind farms is currently so high that there is not enough capacity to build them all, causing the cost price to rise.
There are solutions
Eneco sees enough problems that they do not want to build the wind farms now. At the same time, the company is coming up with solutions that make investing in wind farms attractive again.
For example, the qualitative plans should again weigh more heavily than the highest bid during the tender procedure. So that the process looks less like an auction and focuses more on innovation.
According to Eneco, bidders who submit proposals that combine wind farms with hydrogen production, the so-called combined tenders, should also be considered.
Finally, the energy company proposes that the government absorb some of the risks surrounding falling electricity prices. When the price falls below a certain limit, the government contributes to the payment. Conversely, the wind farm developer pays the government if the electricity price exceeds the agreed price.
