How wind power grew in Netherlands
In the early 1970s Henk Lagerwey built a wind turbine in a barn and connected it to the grid. In 1987 the utility IJsselmij built a 7.5 MW farm of 25 turbines at Westermeerdijk near Urk, billed at the time as Europe's largest. Onshore capacity reached 50 MW in 1990. The first North Sea farm, Egmond aan Zee, with 36 turbines and 108 MW, was built in 2006 and in service in 2007.
The SDE subsidy scheme began in 2008 and later became SDE+ and SDE++. Hollandse Kust Zuid, 1.5 GW, won permits without subsidy in 2018 and 2019 and began operating in 2023. Ownership on land is unusual: about 40% of wind farms were locally owned in 2024, mainly by farmers. A court ruling of 30 June 2021 removed the national noise and safety rules for new farms, and replacements were still not in force at the end of 2025.
At the end of 2025 the Netherlands had 11,782 MW of wind: 7,035 MW on land and 4,748 MW at sea. Wind generated 32.6 TWh in 2025, 26.9% of electricity use. RVO expects onshore capacity to fall in 2026, as more old turbines come down than new ones go up. Offshore, a 2025 tender drew no applicants, and the goal for 2040 was cut from 50 GW to 30 to 40 GW. About 21 GW is planned at sea by 2032.
Sources: BNNVARA · ECN · OSTI · CBS · CBS · RVO · RVO · Rijksoverheid
Where Netherlands's power comes from, 2025
| Source | Share of electricity |
|---|---|
| Gas | 34.9% |
| Wind | 25.0% |
| Solar | 21.1% |
| Coal | 7.1% |
| Bioenergy | 5.1% |
| Other fossil fuels | 3.9% |
| Nuclear | 3.0% |
Wind farms in Netherlands
We track 223 wind farms in Netherlands: 12.0 GW operating and 21.3 GW under construction, consented or planned, with 27.4 GW of it offshore. Each one's owners, turbines and status are in the Wind app.
Electricity data: Ember yearly electricity data (CC BY 4.0). Wind farms: national registers and Global Energy Monitor; see data sources.
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