Departing TenneT executive calls for new industry on Dutch coast

Departing TenneT executive Manon van Beek has called for new industry near the Dutch coast to use electricity from offshore wind farms. Demand, she argued, should be in place by the time that power comes ashore. She made the case in an interview with De Telegraaf, reported by ANP on 3 October. [1]

Van Beek said Dutch consumers were switching rapidly to lower-emission electricity, faster than grid operators could keep up. At coastal points where North Sea wind power comes ashore, however, she said there was too little demand. In her view, large industrial users in those areas are not electrifying quickly enough. [1]

Eemshaven and Maasvlakte are among the cable landing areas identified in the report. Van Beek said she was also speaking with businesses involved in data centres and high-tech industry, rather than looking only to existing industry for additional demand. She said she had the impression that companies were interested, and that authorities in Zeeland were actively approaching businesses. [1]