The world’s first artificial energy island just got the go-ahead

The world’s first artificial energy island has secured its environmental permit, so it’s now all systems go in Belgium.

Princess Elisabeth Island is a pioneering electricity grid at sea that’s going to connect offshore wind farms to the Belgian mainland and also serve as a hub for future interconnectors with the UK and Denmark.

Belgian electricity transmission system operator Elia is the project’s developer, and obtaining the permit, which Elia applied for in January 2023, is a key milestone. Construction will take over two years, from March 2024 to August 2026. 

Princess Elisabeth Island is part of the larger Princess Elisabeth Zone, a future 3.5 gigawatt (GW) offshore wind farm in the North Sea, around 45 km (28 miles) off the Belgian coast. The world’s first artificial energy island will receive power from the wind turbines via undersea cables, and it will then be converted to high-voltage electricity and distributed to the Belgian mainland and other European countries. The energy island will combine both direct current (HVDC) and alternating current (HVAC).

Princess Elisabeth Island is expected to be fully connected to all wind farms and the mainland by 2030. You can check out the project in the video below:

Read more: Four EU countries set a massive offshore wind target of 65 GW by 2030

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