EIB greenlights €500 million Hollandse Kust (noord) loan

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a €500 million loan to finance the development of the Hollandse Kust (noord) offshore wind project.

The loan application was submitted by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Located 18.5 kilometres off the west coast of the Netherlands, the Hollandse Kust (noord) wind farm consists of two sites with a combined capacity of between 693 MW and 760 MW.

The zero-subsidy round of the Hollandse Kust (noord) tender started on 2 April and ended on 30 April.

The round attracted several bids, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) said, including the ones submitted by Ørsted, and the CrossWind consortium of Shell and Eneco.

RVO is expected to announce the winner of the tender by the end of July at the latest.

Hollandse Kust Noord is one of three offshore wind areas chosen by the Dutch government to be developed by 2023, as part of the country’s Energy Agreement for sustainable growth. The project is valued at around EUR 1.4 billion.

TenneT will build a grid connection and construct one offshore platform in this wind farm zone.