Google has agreed to take 478 MW from two Dutch offshore wind farms being built by Shell and Eneco. On the same day it announced new contracts in Italy, Poland and Belgium. The Dutch deal is the biggest of the set, but Google is far from the only name on these two projects. Map the other buyers and a pattern appears in how subsidy-free offshore wind gets sold.
Key takeaways
- Google signed a power purchase agreement with Shell and Eneco, announced on 1 February 2024, to take 478 MW from the Hollandse Kust Noord and Ecowende offshore wind farms in the Netherlands.
- The Google PPA is expected to cover about 2,108 GWh of electricity a year from the two Dutch offshore wind farms.
- Hollandse Kust Noord (759 MW) and Ecowende (760 MW) are subsidy-free offshore wind farms developed by Crosswind and Ecowende, with a combined capacity of 1,519 MW.
- Hollandse Kust Noord also sells power to Amazon under a 380 MW PPA signed in 2021, while Ecowende has contracts with KPN (44.7 MW, 15 years), Albert Heijn, Plukon and De Heus, and LyondellBasell (25 MW, 15 years).
- Among 20 Dutch wind PPAs recorded in Enerdatics' Leap database since 2021, Google's 478 MW is the second largest by capacity, behind BASF's 742.5 MW contract for Hollandse Kust Zuid.
Why do subsidy-free offshore wind farms need so many corporate buyers?
Because no one else guarantees their revenue. A subsidy-free wind farm won its site without a government price support contract. Without that support, the developer either sells power at whatever the wholesale market pays or signs long-term contracts with buyers who want fixed-price renewable electricity. Corporate power purchase agreements are how Dutch offshore projects replace the certainty a subsidy used to provide.
A 760 MW wind farm is too large for one corporate buyer to absorb. So the output is sold in slices, each sized to what a particular company needs. That is why a single project ends up with a telecoms group, a supermarket chain, food producers, a chemicals company and a technology giant on its customer list.
Who else is buying from Hollandse Kust Noord and Ecowende?
On Hollandse Kust Noord, the anchor came first. Amazon signed for 380 MW in February 2021, which is almost exactly half of the 759 MW wind farm. Google's contract now adds a second technology buyer to the same project.
Ecowende has been sold in smaller pieces over a longer period. KPN, the Dutch telecoms operator, signed first in December 2022 for 44.7 MW over 15 years. Albert Heijn, the supermarket chain, followed in December 2023. Google came in February 2024. Plukon Food Group and De Heus signed in July 2024, and LyondellBasell took 25 MW over 15 years in September 2024.
Leap's record does not say how Google's 478 MW is split between the two wind farms, or how long its contract runs. Those are the two figures that would show how much of each project remains unsold.
The volume figure is still informative. About 2,108 GWh a year from 478 MW implies a capacity factor of roughly 50 percent. Capacity factor is the share of a plant's maximum possible output it produces over a year, and offshore sites achieve higher figures than most onshore wind because the wind at sea is stronger and steadier.
How does Google's deal compare with other Dutch wind PPAs?
It is among the largest ever signed in the country. Enerdatics' data shows 20 wind PPAs in the Netherlands announced since the start of 2021. Google's 478 MW ranks second, behind BASF's 742.5 MW contract with Vattenfall for Hollandse Kust Zuid. Amazon's 380 MW on Hollandse Kust Noord ranks third. None of the 20 discloses a price.
The ranking also shows who else anchors Dutch wind. Below the three largest contracts, Air Liquide signed twice for Hollandse Kust Zuid, taking 115 MW in June 2022 and another 115 MW in October 2023, and Chemelot took 90 MW from Fryslan. Industrial buyers sign most of the contracts, while two technology companies hold two of the three largest.
Google has also been a repeat buyer. Leap records three Google wind contracts in the Netherlands in under two years: 153 MW from Eneco over 10 years in April 2023, the 478 MW from Shell and Eneco in February 2024, and 250 MW from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Vattenfall for IJmuiden Ver Beta over 15 years in December 2024. Together that is 881 MW of Dutch wind.
The same-day contracts elsewhere point to a wider programme. Google also signed its first long-term PPA in Italy, for 47 MW from an ERG wind project, which it says will help its Italian offices and its Milan and Turin cloud regions reach more than 90 percent carbon-free energy on an hourly local basis in 2025. It added 106 MW of Polish solar from GoldenPeaks Capital and two deals in Belgium.
What does the deal signal for European offshore wind?
It signals that technology companies have become the anchor buyers for subsidy-free offshore wind. On these two projects alone, Amazon and Google account for 858 MW of contracted capacity, more than half of the 1,519 MW combined. The smaller industrial and retail buyers fill in around them.
It also signals how developers manage risk on projects of this size. Ecowende's output has been sold progressively, with buyers added over almost two years. Each contract reduced the share of output exposed to wholesale prices. A similar pattern has played out in Germany, where seven contracts cover 45 percent of EnBW's He Dreiht offshore wind farm.
Google's buying is not limited to physical power. In the US, it buys certificates rather than electricity from some projects, which is how a wind farm fully contracted to Google still sells its power into PJM. The Dutch deal is a reminder that Google's renewable buying is a portfolio, with each market structured in its own way.
Frequently asked questions
What did Google sign with Shell and Eneco? Google signed a PPA, announced in February 2024, to take 478 MW from the Hollandse Kust Noord and Ecowende offshore wind farms in the Netherlands, equivalent to about 2,108 GWh of electricity a year.
How large are Hollandse Kust Noord and Ecowende? Hollandse Kust Noord is a 759 MW subsidy-free offshore wind farm and Ecowende is a 760 MW subsidy-free offshore wind farm, giving a combined 1,519 MW.
Who else buys power from Hollandse Kust Noord and Ecowende? Amazon has a 380 MW PPA for Hollandse Kust Noord. Ecowende has contracts with KPN, Albert Heijn, Plukon and De Heus, and LyondellBasell, alongside Google.
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