Windcentrale – Platform statistics 2026
9000
investors
Windcentrale – Pros & Cons
About Windcentrale
What it is
Windcentrale is a Dutch scheme, running since 2010, in which households co-own working wind turbines. You buy "Winddelen", shares in a members' cooperative that owns one turbine. Instead of interest or dividends, you are paid in electricity, credited on your energy bill. A contract with the energy supplier Greenchoice is compulsory. The scheme is run by Windcentrale B.V. in Rotterdam. Seven turbines remain, owned by more than 9,000 members (October 2026).
How it works
Each Winddeel is credited daily with its share of the turbine's output, settled once a year on your Greenchoice bill at your supply tariff. Against that credit you pay a yearly operating charge for maintenance, insurance, ground lease and management. In the platform's own example, one Winddeel produces 450 kWh a year, worth €58.50 at €0.13 per kWh, less a €49 operating charge: a saving of €9.50 a year. It expects €5 to €15 per Winddeel in 2026. You may cover at most 85% of your household's net electricity use. Winddelen are bought and sold between members inside the members' portal, with Greenchoice approval and payment by iDEAL.
Who can raise money
Nobody raises new money here. Windcentrale bought existing, operating turbines for its members, and no new turbine has been added since 2016. What is on offer is a small number of Winddelen resold by members: fewer than 335 in Delfzijl Zuid (from €1), fewer than 175 in Burgervlotbrug (from €3) and fewer than 20 in De Boerenzwaluw (from €33).
Fees
There is no platform, management or success fee. The cost is the yearly operating charge per Winddeel, which differs by turbine and is set every year (€49 in the platform's example). Part of it depends on how much the turbine produces. Because the credit is at the bare supply tariff, you still pay energy tax and network charges.
What reaches the project
Today you buy from another member, so your money goes to the seller, not to a turbine. Prices are set by sellers up to a maximum set by Windcentrale. They are far below the original prices: €1 to €33 now, against €215 to €345 when the turbines were first sold in 2012 and 2013.
Track record
Seven turbines with more than 9,000 members, supplying more than 8,000 households a year (October 2026). Ten turbines were sold in total; three in Culemborg are no longer offered. The platform publishes no yearly record of how much electricity each Winddeel actually produced; it now plans with 400 to 500 kWh, against 500 kWh promised at launch. Five of the seven turbines reach their end date on 16 July 2028 (Delfzijl Zuid) or 30 June 2029 (Burgervlotbrug); De Boerenzwaluw runs to 1 March 2036. What members receive when a turbine stops is not published.
Status and regulation
Operating (checked 30 October 2026). The Dutch financial regulator AFM treats Winddelen as an investment. Because each issue was below the €5 million threshold, Windcentrale needs no AFM licence or prospectus and works outside AFM supervision, with the regulator's required warning. In October 2021 the Dutch consumer authority ACM required Windcentrale to explain clearly what happens when you want to resell a Winddeel. It also required Greenchoice to explain expected returns and cut excessive early-exit fees.
Our view
We do not rate Windcentrale: you are paid in electricity on a compulsory energy contract, not in money, so it cannot be compared with investment platforms. What matters for a buyer: a Winddeel saves about €5 to €15 a year on the bill, and most turbines stop in 2028 or 2029. If you leave Greenchoice, the credit stops but the operating charge continues until you sell your Winddelen.
Regulation
License / Regulation: No AFM licence — Winddelen count as an investment, but each issue was below the €5 million prospectus threshold, so Windcentrale B.V. (Rotterdam, KVK 50693107) works outside AFM supervision and shows the regulator's warning. In 2021 the consumer authority ACM required clearer resale information.
Functionality
For Investors
Useful Information
No. There is no guarantee of output and no compensation scheme. If a turbine produces less, you get less credit, and part of the operating charge still has to be paid. You are a member of the cooperative that owns the turbine, so you share its risks.
The price of the Winddeel (now €1 to €33, set by the selling member) plus a yearly operating charge per Winddeel, €49 in the platform's example, which differs by turbine. There is no separate platform fee.
Today none goes to a turbine: you buy an existing Winddeel from another member, and the price goes to the seller. The turbines were paid for when they were first sold in 2012 to 2016.
Neither: there is no fundraising campaign. Winddelen in existing turbines are bought and sold between members. A purchase needs Greenchoice approval, and the transfer takes about four weeks.
Nobody. No new turbine has been added since 2016, and only Windcentrale bought turbines for the members.
Only in electricity, not in cash. In the platform's example one Winddeel produces 450 kWh a year, worth €58.50 on your bill, less €49 of operating charge: €9.50 a year. It expects €5 to €15 per Winddeel in 2026. Energy tax and network charges are still payable.
Yes, you need a Greenchoice contract: variable, or fixed for 1, 2 or 3 years, but not a dynamic hourly one. If you switch supplier, you stop receiving the electricity credit but keep paying the operating charge until you sell your Winddelen.
The end dates are 16 July 2028 for Delfzijl Zuid, 30 June 2029 for Burgervlotbrug and 1 March 2036 for De Boerenzwaluw. Windcentrale does not publish what members receive at that point, or whether money has been set aside to take the turbine down.
