The Royal Dutch Shell-led CrossWind consortium has won the lease rights to develop a novel offshore wind farm in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. The 760 megawatt farm will use about 70 giant Siemens Gamesa turbines, but it also incorporates five unusual energy demonstrator projects.
According to Shell and co-developer Eneco, the site will include a floating solar park; short-term battery storage; turbines tuned to minimize the “wake effect” that each turbine has on the units behind it; and renewable hydrogen via electrolysis. The consortium hopes that some combination of these measures will help to even out the supply of power when the wind is low.
Assuming a feasibility study returns positive results, Shell, Gasunie and Groningen Seaports hope to produce their first green hydrogen by 2027, distributing up to 800,000 tonnes per year to industrial clients.