CrossWind recently received a Project Certificate from Lloyd’s Register for the Hollandse Kust Noord wind farm, located 18.5 kilometres off the coast of the Netherlands. The wind farm was built by CrossWind, a joint venture between Shell and Eneco. It adds 759 MW of renewable energy to the Dutch electricity grid, powered by 69 Siemens Gamesa DD200 11MW wind turbines.
With Hollandse Kust Noord, CrossWind has built a subsidy-free wind park that is expected to produce at least 3.3 TWh of electricity. This corresponds to 2.8 percent of electricity demand in the Netherlands. With the completion of Hollandse Kust Noord project, the Netherlands has achieved its target of more than 4.5 GW of offshore wind by the end of 2023.
As a reputed certification body, LR were invited to provide an independent assessment of the project in accordance with the IECRE operational document (OD) for Wind farm Project Certification and the Dutch Water Decree.
Tjalling de Bruin, Director of CrossWind, said: "Our philosophy is: 'We deliver, we innovate, we share,' and that's what we did. I want to express our gratitude for the service provided by Lloyd’s Register in executing the scope of our Project Certificate. We are delighted with Lloyds Register’s flexibility and active involvement throughout the process.
"The commitment of LR project manager Damijan Pavletic has truly made a positive impact on our project. We look forward to realising the innovations within the park that will help future wind parks always deliver electricity, even when the wind is not blowing. We look forward to sharing this knowledge to accelerate the energy transition."
The scope of this project certification consisted of a project design review, followed by a series of further reviews related to manufacturing, transportation and installation, and commissioning.
In accordance with IECRE OD 502, the results from each of the abovementioned modules were assessed against relevant acceptance criteria to determine whether respective Conformity Statements could be issued. Following a final review of the modules, a Project Certificate was awarded.
In congratulating CrossWind on receiving this certification, Winston D’Souza, LR's Global Technical Authority for Offshore Renewables. said: “Amongst other applicable Codes and Standards for Wind energy, as this project was primarily assessed against the clauses of IECRE OD 502, the work undertaken by CrossWind to meet its requirements places them in a privileged position to embark upon a route towards a formal IECRE Project Certificate. As the only IECRE Renewable Energy Certification Body (RECB) with a scope in Wind and Marine energy, LR will continue to support Crosswind on this journey."
Henk van Staalduinen, LR Service Delivery Manager for North Europe, added: “In the world’s quest for cleaner energy sources, the future of Europe’s energy will undoubtedly emerge from offshore renewables. For technology developers and manufacturers developing these massive wind farm projects, getting it right the first time is essential, and that’s where international standards and conformity assessment systems (e.g. IEC and the IECRE) play a key role. As an experienced IECRE accepted certification body for Wind and Marine energy technologies, LR is excited to support CrossWind in providing continued business assurance for their projects in Europe.”