Today, Windpark Zeewolde B.V. announced it has reached financial close for the 322 MW Zeewolde Wind Farm in the province of Flevoland. The developer also announced it signed a contract with Vestas for the supply of wind turbines.
Windpark Zeewolde B.V., a collaboration of more than 200 local farmers, residents and Dutch entrepreneurs of the Netherlands, is developing the Zeewolde onshore wind farm in the outskirts of Zeewolde, close to the IJsselmeer, in an area covering over 300 km2.
It concerns a repowering project whereby the existing 200 turbines are replaced by 83 new more powerful turbines that will almost triple the annual energy production.
Sjoerd Sieburgh Sjoerdsma, Managing Director Windpark Zeewolde BV. said: “In October 2019 we already started with the construction of the substation and the wind farm infrastructure. This was based on the financing from our community showing the confidence and entrepreneurial spirit of our community. Now, with Vestas and Rabobank we can start the construction of the turbines”.
Rabobank
The financing of the windfarm will be arranged by Rabobank. Rabobank will provide both the junior debt and a senior debt (approx. 500 million Euro) for the construction of the project.
Pieter Plantinga, Executive Director Project Finance at Rabobank: “Financing a wind farm of this magnitude requires months of effort from everyone involved. But it’s worth it, because this is a crucial step in achieving the goals of the Dutch Climate Agreement. Enabling the local community to profit from the revenues of park Zeewolde is a big plus and suits us as a cooperative bank.”
Vestas
Vestas has developed a customised solution that comprises a mix of turbine variants from the 2 MW and 4 MW platforms and a 20-year Active Output Management (AOM 5000) contract, capable of maximising the annual energy production while meeting local restrictions.
Nils de Baar, President of Vestas Northern & Central Europe: “Leveraging customised wind energy solutions with lowest levelized cost of energy, this repowering project, for which more than 90% of the community living nearby has united as shareholders for, will almost triple the annual energy production.”
Project timeline
The deliveries of the wind turbines are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2021. Project completion is expected in 2022. When fully operational, it will be the largest onshore wind farm in the Netherlands and the largest community-owned wind farm in Europe.
