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New Energy World
New Energy World embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low carbon technologies.
Construction of world’s first energy island to start in 2024
15/3/2023
Elia, the Belgian electricity transmission system operator, has awarded TM Edison, a Jan De Nul and DEME joint venture, the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract for construction of what is claimed will be the world’s first artificial energy island.
Work on building the foundations of the Princess Elisabeth Island in the Belgian part of the North Sea will begin in early 2024 and will last 2.5 years. Installation of the high-voltage infrastructure, for which contracts will be awarded at a later date, will then start.
The Princess Elisabeth Island will be the world’s first artificial energy island that combines both direct current (HVDC) and alternating current (HVAC), according to the project partners. Located 45 km from the coast, it will form a vital link in Belgium’s energy supply, opening up the future Princess Elisabeth wind zone (3.5 GW) and connecting the country to the UK and Denmark via the Nautilus and TritonLink interconnector projects.
The artificial island will be constructed from concrete caissons filled with sand. A small harbour and helicopter platform will also be provided to allow maintenance crews to visit the island. Once the high-voltage infrastructure is installed, the artificial island will be connected with the new offshore wind farms and the Elia onshore grid. However, in order to deliver the additional electricity to consumers, the Ventilus and Boucle du Hainaut grid reinforcement projects need to be realised at the same time, notes the consortium. Elia aims to ensure the wind farms are fully connected to the mainland by 2030.
Click here to watch a video outlining the artificial island construction process.
