Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), through its renewables development division, Airtricity, has obtained consent from the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management for construction of the offshore wind farm, West-Rijn, located in the Dutch sector of the North Sea.

West-Rijn is the largest consented wind farm in the Netherlands, and once constructed, will make a major contribution to the Dutch national target of 6,000 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2020. It will consist of up to 72 wind turbines with a total potential energy capacity of around 260 MW. It is located 40 km off the Dutch North Sea coast, approximately 90 km from the city of Rotterdam. The focus will now be on the final phase of the development process, securing financial support from the Dutch government through its renewables support mechanism (‘SDE’).

Paul Dowling, Chief Executive of Airtricity said: ”This is a major achievement for SSE in particular and for the Dutch wind energy industry in general, being the first offshore wind farm to be consented in the Netherlands for almost seven years. The Dutch market is an important new area for SSE’s renewable development team and ‘West Rijn’ is the first in a number of projects which will give us the opportunity to become the leading offshore wind developer in The Netherlands.”