Econcern and Eneco, one
of the three leading energy companies in the Netherlands, today opened the
Netherlands' largest offshore wind farm.
At this celebratory event, the wind
farm (previously known as Q7) was renamed to "Princess Amalia Wind Farm", after
Princess Catharina-Amalia, the eldest daughter of Prince Willem-Alexander and
Princess Máxima. The 60 wind turbines of 2 MW each are situated 23 kilometres
from the coast in a block Q7 off IJmuiden, in water between 19 to 24 metres
deep. Princess Amalia Wind Farm is therefore not only the world's largest wind
farm outside the "12 mile zone", but also located the furthest from the coast
and constructed in the deepest water. Annually the wind farm supplies
approximately 435 GWh of electricity. Princess Amalia Wind Farm is the first
offshore wind farm on the basis of so-called ‘non recourse' project financing.
This means that the investing banks, Dexia, Rabobank and BNP Paribas, trust
that the income generated by the wind farm will completely cover the interest
and instalments, without the requirement of additional guarantees from the
shareholders.