The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) has awarded DNV and Arcadis with contracts totaling EUR 1.7 million, under which the two companies will support RVO in managing offshore wind farm site studies at the six sites within the IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Zone (IJVWFZ).
DNV, whose contract is worth €561,000, will be supporting the government agency on wind and water investigations, including wind resource assessments, metocean conditions and modelling, and client representatives during a metocean campaign.
Arcadis will be providing expert support on soil investigations under a contract valued at €1,147,500, with services related to geophysical, geotechnical and morphodynamical investigations, and ground modelling.
The contracts have been signed until the end of December 2024, when the last site studies related to this tender are expected to be completed. Should site investigation work take longer than that, the expert support contracts will also be extended to a maximum period of twelve months.
The last soil and wind and water studies within the zone are planned to be performed at the IJmuiden Ver V and VI sites, which are now being considered to be offered for tender and could bring 2 GW of offshore wind capacity more in the Dutch IJmuiden Ver offshore wind area, on top of the currently scheduled 4 GW.
An offshore wind tender to develop the sites I and II is scheduled to open in 2023. A tender to develop the sites III and IV is scheduled to open in 2025.
IJmuiden Ver is one of three areas identified by the Dutch Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap 2030. The three areas have a combined capacity of 6.1 GW and are expected to help the Netherlands reach the target of 11.5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.