Energy Transition in Europe: World's First Artificial Energy Island to be Built in The North Sea Off Belgium

Brussels, Belgium - Elia Group of Belgium has received environmental approval from Belgian North Sea Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne to build the Princess Elisabeth Island artificial energy island.

A consortium of Belgian shipbuilding companies DEME and Jan De Nul has already begun preparing the site where the caissons (concrete foundations) will be manufactured in Vlissingen (North Sea port). In the meantime, Elia is putting the finishing touches on a nature-friendly design for the energy hub, which will be submitted later this year. Working with outside experts, the design was reviewed to see what elements could be adapted or added to promote biodiversity on and around the island.

Each of the concrete foundations, which will be manufactured in Vlissingen in the Netherlands, is about 60 m long, 30 m wide and 30 m high. An environmental permit was issued at the end of June 2023 for construction on the Verbrugge Zeeland Terminals site in Bijleveldhaven. At this site in the North Sea port, the 23 concrete caissons will be built, launched and stored. They will then be towed to the offshore site and sunk during the summer months of 2024 and 2025. The island will then be backfilled with sand and prepared for construction of the high-voltage electrical infrastructure.

Princess Elisabeth Island will be an energy hub 45 km offshore, connecting new wind farms and additional interconnectors (to the UK and Denmark) to the Belgian onshore power grid. Receipt of the permit, which Elia applied for in January 2023, is an important prerequisite for the construction of the first artificial energy island in the North Sea. Construction will take approximately two years (March 2024 to August 2026).

Source: IWR Online, Oct 10 2023