The installation of the Hollandse Kust West Beta (HWB) transformer station, located approximately 50 kilometers off the coast near Egmond aan Zee, signifies the culmination of a significant phase in the energy transition. This station represents the last of seven identical offshore ‘sockets,’ each boasting a capacity of 700 megawatts.

Over the past six years, Tennet, the Dutch high-voltage grid operator, has overseen the installation of these stations throughout the North Sea. These “sockets” on stilts convert the electricity generated by the expanding network of offshore wind turbines to high voltage before transmitting it to shore.

These offshore transformer stations come with a substantial price tag, costing around 400 million euros each, which includes the cost of the thick cables to the coast and the onshore transformer station. This significant investment contributes to the rising costs that Dutch citizens and companies have been experiencing for their grid connections in recent years.

Despite the costs, the benefits of these stations are considerable. Offshore wind energy is the fastest-growing renewable energy source. In the previous year, wind turbines in the North Sea accounted for one-eighth of all electricity produced in the Netherlands.

The share of electricity generated by offshore wind is expected to increase in the coming years. By approximately 2032, it is projected that around 75 percent of Dutch electricity will originate from the North Sea, with wind farms situated increasingly further offshore.

To facilitate this expansion, Tennet is transitioning to a next generation of transformer stations with a capacity of as much as 2 gigawatts, nearly three times the size of the HWB. Over the next seven years, seven of these larger stations will be deployed in Dutch waters, with an additional six planned for the German part of the North Sea.