Firms Picked for World's First Energy Island

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Contracts have been awarded for the construction of the world's first offshore energy island, which will be located 45 kilometers off the coast of Belgium in the North Sea.

Belgium's national electricity operator, Elia Transmission Belgium (Brussels), has awarded the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract to a Belgian consortium, TM EDISON, formed by DEME and Jan De Nul. Construction of the foundations of the Princess Elisabeth Island will begin in early 2024 and will last 2.5 years, after which the installation of the high-voltage infrastructure can be started. Elia said the partners won through a combination of having "specialized fleets and extensive experience in the field of dredging, land extension, coastal protection and civil engineering."

The project is an extension of the electricity grid in the North Sea. It is designed to connect three offshore windfarms in development, totaling 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity, to the mainland. It also would create new connections with neighboring countries, including Denmark (via TritonLink) and the U.K (via Nautilus). Industrial Info is tracking progress on the three proposed windfarms. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for a list of detailed project reports, and click here for a list of related plant profiles.

The artificial island will include a 6-hectare area--the size of 12 football fields--for installation of the electrical infrastructure. Located within the Princess Elisabeth wind zone, it will be based on concrete caissons and include a small harbor and helicopter platform. It will be the world's first artificial energy island that combines both direct current (HVDC) and alternating current (HVAC). The project has received funding from the European Covid Recovery Fund, and the Belgian government is backing it with 100 million euro (US$107 million).

"This project is a pioneering one for several reasons," explained Chris Peeters, chief executive officer of Elia Group. "It is the most cost-effective and reliable way to bring offshore wind to shore. It will be an island that provides options for the future. When we connect it to other countries, Princess Elisabeth Island will become the first offshore energy hub. After our construction of the first hybrid interconnector in the Baltic Sea, the island is another world first."

Vincent Van Quickenborne, Belgium's Federal Minister of Justice and the North Sea, added: "The North Sea will become the engine of our energy independence. The Princess Elisabeth Island will be an essential link in this. 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."

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