The Belgian consortium Jan De Nul and DEME won the tender for the construction of the world’s first artificial energy island in the North Sea. The business venture aims to bring offshore wind to shore and to become an offshore energy hub.
1. Princess Elisabeth Zone
The construction of the future artificial energy island is set to begin in early 2024 and to last 2.5 years. The Princess Elisabeth Zone has been identified by the federal government to increase Belgium’s local renewable electricity production by up to 3.5GW. After establishing the foundations, the installation of the high-voltage infrastructure will start, a necessary step to bring the electricity from Belgium’s future offshore wind zone to shore.
The island will also be the first building block of an integrated European offshore electricity grid that will connect various hubs and countries together, the consortium said. For instance, Belgium wants to build additional joint interconnections with Great Britain and Denmark. By doing so, the country will be able to access to the massive amounts of renewable energy that are needed to make its industry less dependent on fossil fuels in the short term.
The North Sea will become the engine of our energy independence. The Princess Elisabeth Island will be an essential link in this.
Vincent Van Quickenborne, Federal Minister of Justice and the North Sea
“Our country has long been a pioneer in the field of offshore wind power with companies such as DEME and Jan De Nul, which are world leaders,” said Vincent Van Quickenborne.
2. Artificial energy island
The concept of artificial energy islands has gained attention in recent years as a potential solution to meet the increasing demand for clean energy. These islands can provide a reliable source of renewable energy and help reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Additionally, they can also serve as a hub for energy storage and distribution.
“As a company, we are proud to put our weight behind this project through which we, as a Belgian consortium, can support our country to achieve its climate objectives. The combined experience of Jan De Nul and DEME as offshore specialists in dredging, rock armour and offshore energy is an absolute added value,” said Julie De Nul, director at Jan De Nul Group.
Belgium is a front-runner in the field of offshore wind energy. We are making this clear once again by constructing this energy island.
Julie De Nul, director at Jan De Nul Group
#JDNproject • We are joining forces to drive the growth of Belgium’s offshore wind energy. Together with EDF Renewables and Luminus, we will be bidding to develop, build and operate a commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the Princess Elisabeth Zone in Belgium.
— Jan De Nul Group (@jandenulgroup) March 7, 2023
•#jandenul pic.twitter.com/3BlUhEwOJ0
3. High-voltage infrastructure
The Princess Elisabeth island will be the world’s first artificial energy island that combines both direct current and alternating current, the consortium disclosed. The island’s high-voltage infrastructure will bundle the wind farm export cables of the Princess Elisabeth zone together, whilst also serving as a hub for future interconnectors with Nautilus, in Great Britain, and TritonLink, in Denmark. Overall, these facilities will facilitate the exchange of electricity between countries and are also connected with gigantic offshore wind farms in the North Sea that will, in due course, provide Belgium with large volumes of renewable energy.
We are looking forward to working together to achieve this technical tour de force. The construction of the world’s first artificial energy island reaffirms our country’s expertise in realising complex projects at sea.
Luc Vandenbulcke, CEO of DEME Group
The Belgian energy island will be located about 45 kilometres off the coast and it will feature the size of about 12 football pitches. The multifunctional island is being subsidised by €100 million under Belgium’s Recovery and Resilience Plan.
