In the period 2020-2030, many new wind farms will be built in the North Sea. Port of Amsterdam, Port of Den Helder and IJmuiden Seaports have jointly investigated what this potential means for the province of Noord-Holland in economic terms and what it does to employment.
The study has been assessed by research institute TNO. The results are summarised in the report “The Economic Contribution of Offshore Wind in the Province of North-Holland“. Based on the situation in 2020, two economic value scenarios have been outlined; a high scenario and a low scenario. These scenarios provide an outlook to 2030 and 2050.
Turnover of at least EUR 1 billion
The study reveals that the future wind farms have the potential to generate direct revenues of a minimum of ~1 billion euros (in the ‘low’ scenario) up to a maximum of ~2.8 billion euros (‘high’ scenario) during the period up to 2030. The bulk of the revenues earned by North Holland-based companies is generated during the O&M (operations and maintenance) stage, followed
by the installation stage, the development stage and, finally, the operation stage. The economic contribution is expressed in revenue; please note that this is not the same as added value.
Increase in employment
The construction of the wind farms will lead to an increase in employment. The impact on employment in the province of North Holland was investigated in a recent report published by ECHT (2019), which reveals
that the construction of the wind farms will create a minimum of 1,375 working years of employment on a one-off basis. The long-term
annual demand for labour will increase to a minimum of 790 FTE of employment by 2030.
This steadily recurring employment for maintenance mainly involves work for technical personnel, is long-term in nature, and will remain in place for 20 to 30 years following the completion of the wind farm. The report makes it clear that these represent absolute minimum employment numbers.
One limiting factor is a possible shortage of technically skilled workers, for which an action plan is proposed in the ECHT report.
Information used
The offshore wind farms used in the study are those who are confirmed to be constructed between 2020 and 2030: Hollandse Kust Zuid 1-4; Hollandse Kust Noord; Hollandse Kust West 1 & 2; Ten Noorden van de Wadden and IJmuiden Ver 1-4. These parks have a combined capacity of 8.3GW.
In calculating the economic contribution for the province of North Holland, the current companies operating in the area are used. These are based on the member base of the offshore cluster organisations Amsterdam-IJmuiden Offshore Ports (AYOP) and North Sea Energy Gateway (NSEG).