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Netherlands and Germany join forces for offshore wind Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster and Cleantech Holland organise workshop in Hamburg with 100 specialists

The development of the offshore wind industry in northwest Europe was the central topic at the Dutch-American-German Offshore Wind Summit held on 19 May 2014 at the DNV GL Group in Hamburg. At the invitation of Renewable Energy Hamburg and the Dutch network Cleantech Holland, representatives of more than 100 offshore wind industry companies from Germany, the Netherlands and the USA met at the summit. The American representatives aim to benefit from European know-how for their future offshore projects. The Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster had already organised a Dutch-German Offshore Wind Seminar in 2012.

Jan Rispens, Managing Director of the Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster, said: “Offshore experts from three countries met and exchanged practical experience and views on current developments at the Dutch-American-German Offshore Wind Summit 2014. This allows us to jointly drive developments across and beyond the German-Dutch maritime boundary. Given the changes made to the Renewable Energy Sources Act, providing for an overall expansion of 6,500 megawatts by 2020, we expect renewed momentum in the German offshore market. By the end of 2015, offshore wind farms with an overall capacity of 2,500 megawatts are to be completed in Germany.“

Rogier Blokdijk, Business Development Manager at Cleantech Holland,said: ”The Dutch-American-German Offshore Wind Summit 2014 falls within the same period as the commissioning of one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms in the Dutch part of the North Sea — just off the shared maritime boundary to Germany — on 15 May. The wind farm, Gemini, is to be completed by 2017. It is mainly a Dutch-German joint venture, and it demonstrates the close cooperation of the two countries.”

At the forefront of the event with representatives of industry and commerce was the development of well-functioning value chains and optimised work processes from project planning, pre-assembly, loading and logistics to installation as well as operation and maintenance concepts. Andreas Schröter, Executive Vice President, Renewables Certification DNV GL, said: “In order to shape the offshore wind industry into a more successful and cost-effective one, a continuous exchange of experience is vital. We are pleased to welcome major players from the Netherlands and Germany for the second time now. Cooperation in northwest Europe is essential, and we are happy to make a contribution.“

Progress made in the Dutch offshore wind market has recently started to reflect in the Gemini project. Consisting of 150 Siemens wind turbines with a capacity of 4 MW each, the wind farm will have a total capacity of 600 megawatts. The wind farm in the North Sea will be built off the coast of Groningen and is scheduled to go online in 2017. The total budget is nearly 3 billion euros. Due to its high capacity, the Gemini project will play an important role for the Netherlands in meeting the binding goals set by the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive.

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