TM EDISON, a joint venture of DEME and Jan De Nul, has obtained the EPCI contract from Elia to develop the world’s first-ever artificial energy island offshore from Belgium.
“This project is a pioneering one for several reasons. When we connect it to other countries, the 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. It solidifies Elia Group’s position as a company that is at the cutting edge of technology, which is necessary for the energy transition.”
Chris Peeters, Elia Group CEO
Notably, the government of Belgium awarded the project with about €100 million ($106 million) funds. The European Covid Recovery Fund will also award it with additional funding.
About the Princess Elisabeth Island
Princess Elisabeth Island is located in the North Sea, nearly 45 km off the coast of Belgium. It is a groundbreaking sea-based electricity grid that links offshore wind farms to the mainland. Furthermore, it will establish a connection with Great Britain and Denmark through their Nautilus and TritonLink interconnectors, respectively.
The artificial energy island will serve as an electricity transmission hub with undersea cables that will transmit the wind turbine-generated power. Then, the energy will be processed into high-voltage electricity and delivered to mainland Belgium and other European nations, including Denmark and the UK.
Remarkably, Princess Elisabeth Island will be designed to link direct current (HVDC) with alternating current (HVAC).
Belgian electricity transmission system operator Elia plans to develop the Princess Elisabeth Zone as a 3.5 GW offshore wind farm, dubbed the “world’s first offshore artificial energy island.”
TM EDISON to design and build the Princess Elisabeth Island
Finally, Elia has chosen TM EDISON to design and develop Princess Elisabeth Island, with the awarded Engineering, Procurement, Construction & Installation (EPCI) contract.
Meanwhile, Elia plans to release the high-voltage infrastructure contract at a “later stage.” It will transmit the power from Belgium’s upcoming offshore wind zone to shore.
See Also:
- The world’s most potent wind turbine has generated its first power
- Siemens Gamesa launches RecyclableBlade for onshore wind projects
- Study suggests that solar energy will become 10 times cheaper than gas in Europe
- Global floating offshore wind pipeline more than doubled to 185 GW in 2022
- European Union reaches agreement to eliminate combustion-engine vehicles by 2035
As for the schedule, the JV plans to commence development in early 2024, with an expected completion date of mid-2026.
The project will undoubtedly boost Belgium’s sustainability goals and carbon emission reduction.
You can watch the video regarding this astounding artificial energy island project below:
