Olsterwind and Zeebiestocht Wind Farms reach financial close

The financing process for the repowering of the two Dutch onshore wind farms Olsterwind and Zeebiestocht was completed at May 12. This milestone marks the construction start of in total 15 Nordex N163 turbines with a cumulative calculated annual energy production well above 300,000 MWh.

The Olsterwind and Zeebiestocht wind farms are located in the North-Eastern part of the Flevopolder in the province of Flevoland and integral part of Windplan Groen, which aims at building 90 new wind turbines in the area with a total installed capacity of around 500 MW. Repowering the Olsterwind and Zeebiestocht projects, together with the preparations for the construction of the substation between the Olsterpad and the Hoge Vaart, is a first major step in reaching this ambitious goal.

Repowering project

The Zeebiestocht wind farm was realized in the years 2006 – 2007 with 10 Enercon E70/2300 2.3 MW turbines. These are now being replaced by 7 new, more powerful turbines. The old ones are given a sesond life in Lithuania. The 10 Vestas V80 wind turbines from the Olsterwind wind farm on the Olstertocht will be replaced by 8 new ones.

First installation of Nordex N163 in the Netherlands

German turbine manufacturer supplies the wind turbines for the projects. The selected Nordex N163 model features one of the wind industry’s largest onshore rotor diameters and is the latest platform addition of the globally successful Delta4000 series. N163 advanced technology features enable minimized environmental impact, making this turbine ideal for Flevoland-typical wind conditions. A Dutch market novelty is that Olsterwind and Zeebiestocht will become the first wind locations with N163 turbines.

The construction phase is preceded by the decommissioning/removal of the old smaller turbines, already destined for a new leash of life in foreign wind markets. Furthermore, all the concrete of the old foundations will be recycled/reused for new turbine foundations as well as reinforcing crane hardstands. The construction start is planned for mid-2022.

The project initiators

The developers of both wind farms are committed farmers and local residents with a passion for wind power. The initiator’s motto reads: ‘A wind farm of the people, built by the people’ Current Olsterwind and Zeebiestocht turbines have produced clean power in the stakeholder’s own area for over 15 years. This initial initiative was the outcome of a collaborative effort, which is now being repeated with the new windfarms.

Topwind Consultancy

The Olsterwind and Zeebiestocht management in early 2020 engaged Topwind Consultancy for the new wind farm’s tendering, contract negotiations and project finance. The parties recently agreed to also delegate the construction phase management to Topwind.

Topwind assists and supports project initiators during their procurement and construction management of their (wind) energy-related ventures. This can be expanded by assets optimizing and long-term upkeep management, performance monitoring, contract issues, and project finance.

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