Belgium Seeks to Double its Offshore Wind Power Capacity by 2020

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (Delhi, India)--In a bid to partially reduce its dependence on nuclear power and to meet its clean energy goals, the Government of Belgium has planned to establish five new offshore windfarms with an aggregate capacity of 2,200 megawatts (MW) at various locations in the North Sea.

Belgium seeks to generate 16% of its energy-mix for lighting, transport and heating purposes, from renewable sources by 2020. In 2011, Belgian federal government invited Request for Proposal (RfP) for selecting project developers to establish, maintain and operate 2.2-Gigawatt (GW) offshore power plants in the North Sea.

Belgian federal government has identified an area of approximately 240 square kilometers, which consists of seven project zones. For all project zones a domain concession has been granted by the federal energy regulatory authority- Commission de Régulation de l'Electricité et du Gaz (CREG) for construction and operation of offshore windfarms.

To make these projects attractive for the private sector, the government had proposed to offer one Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) for every MW of power produced. The offshore developers, as concession holders, can sell these RECs to the transmission system operator ELIA (EBR: ELI) (Brussels) at a guaranteed minimum price.

Under the terms of a planned nuclear phase-out, seven nuclear reactors, which generate about 55% of the country's electricity, are set to retire in 2025. To maintain the power balance and industry growth, Belgium is tapping its renewable energy resources.

In order to meet the growing energy demand and to guarantee electricity supply in Belgium, Elia has planned to strengthen its high voltage grid in North-Western Belgium between Zeebrugge and Zomergem. The plan involves laying a new high voltage line, with a new onshore high voltage substation at the end of this line in Zeebrugge Port. Elia is also working to interlink the transmission system with the grids of the neighboring countries existing in their respective territorial waters in the North Sea.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.