Eneco Luchterduinen Wind Farm
To generate wind energy, Eneco and Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) realised the Eneco Luchterduinen Wind Farm 23 kilometres off the coast of Noordwijk and Zandvoort. This is an advanced offshore wind turbine farm for which we also tested innovative foundations and installation technologies in the field. In this way, we are giving fresh impetus to the development of the offshore sector and helping to significantly reduce the cost of offshore wind energy.
The offshore wind turbine farm has been operational since 2015. The amount of green electricity jointly generated by the 43 wind turbines is equivalent to the annual consumption of 150,000 households. Purchasers of the wind energy generated by Eneco Luchterduinen include TU Delft, NS, KPN and Qurios. The realisation of the wind farm has increased Dutch offshore wind energy by 56%.
Location of Luchterduinen Wind Farm
The Eneco Luchterduinen Wind Farm is located 23 km off the coast between Noordwijk and Zandvoort. This location was chosen because the wind farm is not visible from the coast on most days but does benefit from the higher and more constant offshore wind speeds. In addition, one contributory factor when choosing the location was a government requirement that the offshore wind turbine farm must be located outside the nautical 12-mile zone.
179,640 households are switching over with the 100% green electricity generated by these 43 wind turbines
More about the project
Innovations that were used in the Eneco Luchterduinen Wind Farm are now becoming the industrial standard. One of the innovations is the ‘1-piece’ pile as a foundation for the wind turbines rather than the pile and attachment that were used in the past. This new solution has saved around half a million euros per wind turbine, an enormous cost saving for a farm with 43 wind turbines.
Around 2 million man hours were spent on designing and installing the wind farm. An estimated 560 employees from Mitsubishi Corporation, Eneco, Ecofys, Van Oord, Vestas, Joulz, Tennet and various consultancy firms worked on the project. The main contractor for the wind farm was Van Oord.
Offshore, 50 ships were deployed, including Van Oord’s offshore installation ship Aeolus, cable-laying ships, rock-dumping vehicles, tugboats and the crane ship Rambiz. The wind farm was well within budget and was delivered three months earlier than planned.
Cooperation with Mitsubishi Corporation
Besides Eneco, Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) has a 50% share in the Eneco Luchterduinen offshore wind farm. The companies entered into a ‘Long-term Cooperation Agreement’ for the realisation of this wind farm. In December 2019, the Mitsubishi Corporation (and Japanese company Chubu Electric Power) announced that they had acquired energy company Eneco.
"The commitment to sustainability, which is one of the central tenets of MC's interim review of the 2012 Corporate Strategy, is an important driver behind MC's interest in Eneco's offshore wind energy projects. It is one of the main reasons why MC sees this strategic cooperation as an excellent opportunity to put its green philosophy into practice by developing special projects such as Eneco Luchterduinen."
Nobuaki Kojima, Executive Vice President, Global Environment & Infrastructure Business Development Group Director of Mitsubishi Corporation
Environmental monitoring
To find our more about the possible effects of our wind farm on marine life in the area, a Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (MEP) is being conducted for the Eneco Luchterduinen wind farm. This programme started one year before the construction activities began in 2013.
Most of the studies have now been completed and have produced plenty of useful new information.
Facts and figures
Wind turbines
43 pieces
Type: Vestas V112
Axle height: 81 meters
Blade length: 55 meters
Power: 3 MegaWatt
Annual yield
531,000,000 kWh
CO2 saving
275,000 tonnes per year
Purchaser
TU Delft
NS
KPN
Qurios
and others
