Elia

History

2023: Construction of an energy bridge at sea

In early March 2023, energy company Elia announced the construction of an artificial island in the North Sea, which will serve as an energy hub. The island will be equipped with all the necessary infrastructure for self-sufficiency with electricity, and it will also extract wind energy, it will also be connected to the power grids of neighboring countries.

The Belgian company Elia is going to complete the project to build a completely artificial island by 2030. The Princess Elizabeth Zone is a future 3.5 GW offshore wind farm located in the North Sea, 45 km off the coast of Belgium. The artificial island will function as an energy hub to which offshore wind farms are connected. In addition, cables will be drawn from the island that will connect it to the mainland, and wind electricians will flow through them to neighboring countries. The energy produced by wind turbines will be transferred to an artificial island via underwater cables, and from there will flow to the mainland of Belgium and other EU countries.

Power Island Concept

In early 2023, the operator in Elia also reported that construction companies DEME and Jan De Nul had formed a joint venture TM EDISON, which will be engaged in the construction of the island. Work will begin in early 2024 and be completed by mid-2026. The area allocated for the construction of the electrical infrastructure of the island is about 6 hectares - this is the equivalent of the area of ​ ​ 12 football fields. The island will be built of concrete caissons filled with sand. In addition to the actual energy infrastructure, it is planned to build a small port and a helipad for service teams. The Danish government has allocated a grant of more than $100 million for the project. The island is expected to be fully connected to wind farms and the mainland by 2030.^[1]

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