Belgian tender for North Sea wind farm finally started

After earlier postponements, Belgium has issued a tender for the first of three new giga wind farms in the Princess Elisabeth zone in the North Sea. The first new wind farm would be put into operation by the end of 2028 and produce at least 2.6 terawatt hours of electricity annually. A tender for two additional wind farms will follow later.

The Princess Elisabeth Energy Island will play a key role in developing Belgium’s second offshore wind zone. Located 45 km off the Belgian coast, it is the world’s first artificial energy island. It will connect offshore wind farms to the mainland and be a landing point for future hybrid interconnections.

Submarine link

Elia is building this artificial island to bring the energy generated by the offshore wind farms to land. It will bring power to the mainland and exchange energy with neighboring countries. There would even be a 500 km-long submarine cable connecting the Danish offshore wind farms with the energy island off our coast.

By 2030, Belgium wants to obtain three times more energy from wind. By 2030, the total capacity of the parks off the Belgian coast would be 5.8 gigawatts. According to Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten, it will be enough to cover the energy needs of all Belgian households. The European Commission wants half of Europe’s electricity to come from wind energy by 2050.

Degree of citizen participation

Prospective developers now have nine months to submit bids for the 700-megawatt park. Among the candidates are many Belgian companies such as Deme, Aspiravi, Parwind, and Jan De Nul and foreign groups such as TotalEnergies, RWE, Ørsted, and EnBW.

The consortium that is satisfied with the lowest price guaranteed by the government for its wind energy has the best chance of winning the tender. In addition to the price, the degree of citizen participation can also play a decisive role.

Resistance from action groups

The first wind farm must be connected in 2028. However, the entire operation will be much more expensive than planned: the price will rise to 7 billion euros instead of the original 2.2 billion. The costs will be passed on to the end users—consumers and the industry.

The energy must be brought ashore via the so-called ‘Ventilus’ high-voltage line (from Zeebrugge to Avelgem) and then to Courcelles via the ‘Boucle du Hainaut.’ However, Elia is still waiting for the final permits. The project has also been delayed due to resistance. Action groups even went to the Council of State because they wanted the high-voltage line underground.