Laws and regulations, international treaties and policy

Legislation and regulations for offshore wind

Offshore Wind Energy Act

The Offshore Wind Energy Act (in Dutch) of 1 July 2015 provides a comprehensive legal framework for the large-scale development of offshore wind. Among other things, it regulates the issuing of sites for wind farms in the North Sea. It also introduced the ‘site decision’, which determines where, and subject to which conditions, a wind farm can be built and exploited.

In 2021, the Offshore Wind Energy Act was amended to ensure that the timetable for the 2030 Offshore Wind Roadmap – to which the supplementary 2030 offshore wind roadmap (later amended to 2033) was added in 2022 (in Dutch)– is attainable. This will make it possible to meet the targets set in the Climate Agreement. The essence of the act has remained unchanged. The amendment included making the act suitable for energy carriers other than electricity in the more distant future. The permit procedure has also been modified. The existing procedure for permits in which applications can be made for subsidies has been supplemented with the permit procedure without subsidies (with a view to a time when subsidies will no longer be needed). In the latter case, a permit may be granted on the basis of a comparative assessment in which applications will be compared with each other on the basis of qualitative criteria, or in an auction.

2024

The act was amended once again in 2024 pursuant to the introduction of the Environment Act.

2026

The act was amended again in 2026. The main amendments were as follows:
Consent is no longer required from the ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning but the minister may, in consultation with the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature, make a site decision on the basis of Article 3 of the Offshore Wind Energy Act. This is also seen in Article 9 of the Offshore Wind Energy Act because the required approval in the course of a preparatory decision has shifted from the ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning to the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management.
In addition, the definition of a wind farm was also amended. The new definition is stricter than the old definition since it includes the criterion of a minimum of three wind turbines. As a result, small-scale wind farms (one or two turbines) are no longer covered by the scope of the Offshore Wind Energy Act. The amendment of the definition also means that the production and conversion of other energy carriers is also anchored better: it is now explicitly stated that the combination of facilities serves not only to produce wind energy but also – where appropriate – to convert it. As a result, the use of electricity from offshore wind for activities such as the production of hydrogen is, among other things, recognised as a legal component of the wind farm rather than a separate or external activity.
See Offshore Wind Energy Act (in Dutch).

Environment Act

The Environment Act went into effect on 1 January 2024. It combines all the legislation and regulations pertaining to the physical environment, including the Nature Protection Act, the Water Act and the Water Decree. The Offshore Wind Energy Act remains in force separately. Permits were issued for the first generation of wind farms under the old legislation. Those wind farms are covered by the Environment Act.

The Environment Act is largely a framework act. The specific implementation of the act consists of four general orders in council: the Environment Decree, the Decree on Activities in the Living Environment (BAL, in Dutch), the Decree on Quality of the Living Environment (BKL, in Dutch) and the Decree on Building Works in the Living Environment (BBL, in Dutch).

Among other things, the Environment Act protects the Dutch Natura 2000 areas (area protection) and plant and animal species (species protection). The act contributes to the preservation and restoration of biodiversity. It also applies to the Dutch section of the North Sea. Area and species protection are largely based on EU legislation and regulations. In this way, the Netherlands complies with international obligations relating to the protection of nature. In addition, the Environment Act includes general rules for the construction, exploitation and removal of offshore wind farms. These rules have been included in Chapter 7 of the BAL

The Energy Act (in Dutch) went into effect on 1 January 2026. It merged and modernised the regulations relating to gas and electricity production, distribution and supply from the Gas Act and 1998 Electricity Act. It covers, for example, the areas of market participants and the duties and competences of the system administrators. Spatial planning for large-scale infrastructure is also regulated in part by the Energy Act. The act includes provisions about the mandatory application of the project decision for major energy projects or infrastructure expansion. The main amendments to the Environment Act by the Energy Act relate to a number of changes in definitions. One is the term ‘grid’: this term was replaced by the word ‘system’ with the advent of the Energy Act. The Electricity Act defined the term as follows: ‘one or more connections for the transmission of electricity, and the associated transformer, switchgear, distribution and substations, and other resources, except insofar as those connections and resources are part of a direct line or part of a producer’s or customer’s installation.’ This definition no longer applies and we work with the term ‘system’, which is defined in the Energy Act as follows: ‘transmission system, distribution system, interconnector system, gas storage system or LNG system’.

Water Act

This act became defunct on 1 January 2024 and was incorporated in the Environment Act.

Water Decree

This decree became defunct on 1 January 2024 and was incorporated in the Environment Act.

Nature Protection Act

This act became defunct on 1 January 2024 and was incorporated in the Environment Act.

International treaties

Westereems Convention

The Westereems Convention (in Dutch), which entered into force on 24 October 2014, is an agreement between the Netherlands and Germany about the use and management of the territorial sea between 3 to 12 nautical miles offshore. That area lacks an agreed border between the two countries. The convention sets out the allocation of competences in the areas mentioned in the convention. In addition, for the use and management of the waterways, agreements are be made about Germany’s competences in the Dutch territorial sea.

UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 (which entered into force for the Netherlands on 28 July 1996) is intended to provide a general legal framework for the use of seas and oceans. As a result, the convention mainly consists of general rules. A number of existing conventions to which the Netherlands is a party, such as MARPOL and the OSPAR Convention, can be seen as a further elaboration of the general rules in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The convention also provides the basis for establishing a safety zone around a wind farm so that appropriate measures can be taken inside that zone for the safety of both shipping and the installation. The possibility of establishing a safety zone around a wind farm was adopted in national legislation, namely in Article 6.10 of the Water Act. Since the introduction of the Environment Act, this provision can be found in Article 2.40 of the Environment Act.

OSPAR Convention

The OSPAR Convention constitutes a cross-border legal framework for the protection of the marine environment in the North-East Atlantic, which includes the North Sea. The OSPAR Convention entered into force in 1992. The objectives of the convention were further extended in 1998 so that it not only covers marine pollution as a result of the dumping and discharge of waste but also provides for the overarching protection of biodiversity and ecosystems. The OSPAR Convention guarantees European standards for the protection of the seas and therefore human health in the following areas:

• Protection and conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems
• Environmental impact of human activities
• Hazardous substances
• Eutrophication
• Offshore oil and gas industry
• Radioactive substances
• Assessment and monitoring

Marine Strategy Framework Directive

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) published in 2008 aims to protect, and where necessary restore, the condition of the marine environment in European seas and oceans. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires every European member state to adopt a marine strategy for the protection, maintenance and restoration of the marine environment for their own marine area that safeguards the sustainable use of the North Sea. The Netherlands included the implementation of the directive in the Water Decree in 2010. The 2022-2027 Marine Strategy for the Dutch section of the North Sea (part of the 2022-2027 North Sea Programme) includes the implementation of the directive for the Dutch section of the North Sea.

Nature Restoration Act

The Nature Restoration Act was adopted by the EU member states in 2024. It obliges member states to take effective nature restoration measures. The goal is to restore at least 20% of, among other things, marine areas in the EU. The Regulation includes rules for the restoration of marine habitats in poor condition. The aim is to restore at least 30 per cent of those habitats by 2030. In addition, measures must be taken to restore 60% and 90% of those habitats by 2040 and 2015 respectively.

Protocol to the London Convention

The Protocol to the London Convention prohibits the dumping at sea of all substances except those listed in Annex I to the Protocol. In the case of those substances, consideration may be given to whether they may qualify for marine dumping. Annex II to the Protocol sets out the considerations to be taken into consideration and the conditions to be attached to any dumping permit. Annex II stresses the importance of gradually reducing the use of the sea for dumping waste. The annex also states which other options should be considered. If if it is better to handle the substances to be dumped using one of the other options listed in the annex, an offshore dumping permit will be refused.

Policy

The central government determines how climate targets will be achieved and how to implement legislation in that area. The government draws up policy for this purpose.

2022-2027 National Water Programme

The 2022-2027 National Water Programme was adopted on 18 March 2022 as the successor to the 2016 National Water Plan and the 2016-2021 Management and Development Plan for the nationally managed waters. In the National Water Programme, the central government describes the outlines of the national water policy and their implementation in the nationally managed waters and waterways. An important part of the 2022-2027 National Water Programme is the 2022-2027 North Sea Programme.

2022-2027 North Sea Programme

The 2022-2027 North Sea Programme is part of the 2022-2027 National Water Programme and it replaces the 2016-2021 North Sea Policy Document. With the North Sea policy, the central government sets out the frameworks for the spatial use of the North Sea in relation to the marine ecosystem. The 2022-2027 North Sea Programme maintained and reconfirmed in part the areas designated for wind energy in the North Sea. New wind energy areas were also designated: Nederwiek, Lagelander and Doordewind. The programme also contains an assessment framework for all activities requiring a permit in the North Sea.

Policy rule relating to the establishment of safety zones for offshore wind farms

The conditions subject to which sailing in wind farms is permitted have been set out in the Policy rule relating to the establishment of safety zones for offshore wind farms (in Dutch). A general decree sets out the conditions from the policy rule in detail for each wind energy area. The Policy Rule relating to the Establishment of Safety Zones for Offshore Wind Farms was amended on 1 January 2023. The conditions for sailing in the wind farms, as incorporated in Article 3 of the policy rule, were amended. The change means that sailing inside the safety zones of new offshore wind farms will be permitted only in designated passages for vessels with a total maximum length of 46 metres. In addition, given the upscaling of offshore wind turbines, the minimum distance from the wind turbines was increased to a radius of 150 metres.

2023 Offshore wind energy roadmap

In the Energy agreement for sustainable growth (in Dutch), it was agreed that, by 2023, offshore wind must have a total capacity (including the capacity of previously built wind farms) of approximately 4.5 gigawatts. The first Offshore wind energy roadmap (in Dutch) for the period up to and including 2023 sets out how the offshore wind target will be achieved on time. The Borssele wind farm offshore Zeeland was constructed first, followed by two Hollandse Kust wind farms: Hollandse Kust (zuid) and Hollandse Kust (noord). These three new farms will together generate around 3.45 gigawatts of power.

2030 Offshore wind energy roadmap

The then cabinet submitted the Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap for the period 2024-2030 (in Dutch) to the Dutch House of Representatives on 27 March 2018. This roadmap includes the outlines for offshore wind development from 2024 to 2030. The 2030 offshore wind roadmap also details the contribution of offshore wind to the reduction of carbon emissions as agreed in the coalition agreement of the Rutte III cabinet. The roadmap provides for wind farms with a joint capacity of more than 7 GW. We will achieve most of that (6.1 gigawatts) by utilising (in part) the previously designated wind energy areas Hollandse Kust (west), IJmuiden-Ver and Ten Noorden van de Waddeneilanden.