French energy group Engie has entered the zero-subsidy tender for the 750MW Hollandse Kust South 3&4 offshore wind zone in the Dutch North Sea.

The move – confirmed by Engie to Recharge – means the French group joins the likes of Vattenfall, Shell and Orsted in the tender, which closed last week.

Engie last month identified offshore wind as one of its key focus areas as it unveiled plans to add 9GW of new renewable energy capacity by 2022.

It is already active in the French and UK offshore sectors, including a position in the fledgling floating wind power arena. Last year it signed a memo of understanding with Japan’s J-Power to look at options for joint offshore wind development globally.

The Dutch energy ministry in December first revealed that it will opt for a subsidy free tender at Hollandse Kust South 3&4, with applications invited for 110 square km of sea for wind development in water depths of 18-25 metres.

The Netherlands now has among the most ambitious offshore wind programme in Europe, with Hollandse Kust South 3&4 the latest in about 700MW batches of capacity due to be installed annually up to 2023, to be followed by 1GW a year until 2030.