After a year and a half of construction, the Second Maasvlakte wind farm is completed. The 22 wind turbines, some as high as the Euromast, generate enough electricity for more than 150,000 households. But almost all this electricity will go to the government. The park was officially opened on Monday 22nd May 2023.
The power is mainly for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. More than enough is generated for the department in The Hague, and so, energy will also be supplied for twenty tunnels, almost 1200 bridges and 5500 kilometres of highway lighting.
Even then, there is still enough left; to be precise, half, of the 416-gigawatt hours the wind farm at Maasvlakte 2 is expected to generate annually. That, too, is a good thing for the central government, as defence complexes, prisons, courts, and government offices will also be supplied with green energy.
Bird Radar
To prevent birds from being smashed to pieces by the blades of the turbines, a bird radar has been installed. The device detects the animals, and, when necessary, can even send a signal to stop the windmills automatically.
'These Kinds of Windmills Are Normally Found At Sea'
Construction of the park began last February, with Eneco building the 22 turbines on behalf of Rijkswaterstaat. "Some of the wind turbines are still in a test phase, but we hope they will all be up and running soon," says Stef van Wessel of Rijkswaterstaat.
Ten of them stand on the dyke and are 117 meters high with a blade length of 57 meters, with the remainder on the beach. These are also a lot larger: 162 meters high and a blade length of 74 meters.
These are unprecedented dimensions: these large colossal turbines are usually only found in offshore wind parks. "They have to catch more wind than the versions on the dyke, hence the difference. And, of course, they are already at a higher elevation than the dyke," says Rianne de Voogt of Eneco.
This article originally appeared in Rijnmond on 22nd May 2023. It has been translated from Dutch to English and republished here. Click here for the original (online) Dutch language article.
Original Author: Jamie van Velzen
At last year's Conference on Wind & Wildlife, we caught up with Environmental Specialist from Eneco, Marin van Regteren, to discuss the real-time situational awareness our radar provides at Maasvlakte 2. Check out the interview below!
