Dutch pension fund ABP announced SSE Renewables as the first partner in the Noordzeker partnership with which it plans to tender for offshore wind in the Netherlands. The partners will jointly bid for the IJmuiden Ver tenders.
ABP already announced last year that it wants to invest heavily in offshore wind. In mid-November, the Dutch pension fund announced the partnership Noordzeker for this purpose. Through Noordzeker, ABP seeks cooperation with knowledge institutions, industry, civil society organisations and national, regional and local governments. APG, as ABP’s asset manager, will be responsible for implementing the coalition objectives of Noordzeker.
The first partner with whom ABP, through APG, will partner is now known: Scottish SSE Renewables. SSE Renewables is one of the larger renewable energy players and owner and operator of renewable energy in the UK and Ireland. The company aims to double its share of renewable energy in the coming years.
IJmuiden Ver tender
Together, the parties intend to participate in the upcoming 4GW IJmuiden Ver offshore wind farm zone tenders. The IJmuiden Ver tenders are for the award of permits to develop the four individual 1GW sites within the IJmuiden Ver Zone located approximately 62km off the Dutch coast..The Dutch government has announced that it will award permits for IJmuiden Ver through a comparative assessment with financial bid procedure. All four IJmuiden Ver tenders will have a maximum bid price, the level of which is yet to be confirmed.
In addition to this, innovations regarding Ecology, System Integration, Circularity and International Responsible Business Conduct (IRBC) will be crucial criteria in the tender. The consortium is a long-time engagement in which APG and SSE Renewables will innovate for the benefit of securing energy supply for the Netherlands in harmony with the North Sea’s precious ecosystem.
Community involvement
The 50/50 joint venture combines SSE Renewables’ experience in developing, building and operating offshore wind farms with APG’s significant investment experience in renewable energy and energy transition and its strong roots in Dutch society. Both companies have a long tradition of community involvement in renewable energy development and a track record of applying innovative technological solutions to their projects. With their solution-oriented and innovative approach, the companies hope to achieve important societal goals in the Netherlands and see these tenders as a way to contribute to the Dutch government’s ambitions to realise around 21 gigawatts of energy via offshore wind around 2030, as a measure to secure energy supply for Dutch citizens.
Criteria and other elements of the procedures for IJmuider Ver tenders are expected to be published in early 2023, with the application window expected to be opened in Q4 2023.
