Room for windmills in the port
The city council has agreed with the draft zoning amendment plan ‘Windenergie Sloterdijk III’ and is able to comment on it. For the windmills in the Westpoort port area, on the site of the Amsterdam West sewage treatment plant of the Amstel, Gooi and Vecht Water Board, the provincial authorities of North Holland have already issued them in 2021. With the zoning amendment plan for the locations and safety zones of the four wind turbines of the Westpoortweg wind farm, now also laid down in the zoning plan.
Alderman Marieke van Doorninck (Spatial Development and Sustainability): “I am pleased that the water board is working so energetically. These wind turbines in the port make a substantial contribution to the Amsterdam energy transition and are an important step towards a sustainable energy supply in Amsterdam.”
The development of the wind farm already started before the Regional Energy Strategy (RES) was set up. The first permit application was made in 2016, but the rules of the province did not allow installation at the time. After broadening the provincial rules for wind energy, the water board again submitted a permit application in 2020. The permit is in 2021, there are no interests of relying on the permit.
The water board and the municipality take the impact on nature and health seriously, which is why a lot of research was done into the effects of the wind farm before the permit application. Research has been carried out into noise, cast shadow, external safety and ecology and an ‘EIA assessment’ has been carried out.
Amstel, Gooi en Vecht water board energy neutral
Sander Mager, daily director of the Amstel, Gooi en Vecht Water Board: “To save energy and produce sustainable energy, the water board has, among other things, realized a green gas installation and more than 24,000 solar panels have been put into use. But the water board wants to be completely energy-neutral and preferably energy-positive pink. That is why we investigated the possibilities of realizing wind energy, also in the area of the sewage treatment plant in Amsterdam-West. These wind turbines will cover approximately 40% of the water board’s total electricity needs. That is roughly the average of about 8,000 Amsterdam households. This wind farm offers us the opportunity to realize our ambition to be energy neutral.”
The location of the water board lends itself well to windmills, in the industrial environment of the western port area of Amsterdam. The water board is currently working on the (technical) elaboration of the wind turbines, examining whether it will be possible to install four wind turbines, based on the principle that the operation of the treatment plant will not be affected. If that doesn’t work, it will be three. The water board expects to make a decision about the construction of the wind farm at the end of this year, so that it can be completely energy neutral for about two years.
Regional energy strategy
In 2021, the municipal search areas for wind energy will be set up to install approximately 17 additional wind turbines within the municipal boundaries. The plans, together with the ambition to install 400 MW of solar panels on large roofs, are part of the RES. Amsterdam will implement the agreements made in the national Climate Agreement. The development of Wind Farm Westpoort was started before the development of the RES and therefore does not fall within the current reflection phase.