World's First Ever Artificial Energy Island Set To Power Up To 3 Million Belgian Homes [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

World's First Ever Artificial Energy Island Set To Power Up To 3 Million Belgian Homes
It's in its initial stages of construction after a cash injection from the EU.

Dr. Katie Spalding
Freelance Writer

Edited
by
Laura Simmons



Artist's impression showing a concrete rectangular island in the middle of the sea with faintly visible wind turbines in the background. The island has several structures on it in orange and teal.
An artist's impression of how the finished island might look.

Image courtesy of Elia Group

You know, they say that complicated problems require creative solutions, but inventing a never-before-seen type of island and then building it off the coast of Belgium is definitely a new one to us.

Nevertheless, that’s precisely what’s happening: the European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a €650 million (around US$705 million) loan for the construction of Princess Elisabeth Island – a landmass set to be the world’s first ever artificial “energy island”.

It’s a project being run by Belgium’s high-voltage grid operator Elia Transmission Belgium. Once complete, the company projects an output of 3.5 gigawatts of energy to help power the small European country – enough to power more than 3 million households, notes a statement from Elia.

Rather than generating power, like the huge offshore wind farms that populate the seas nearby, Princess Elisabeth Island will act more like a central hub for energy: “The high-voltage infrastructure installed on the island will bundle together the export cables of the Princess Elisabeth Zone wind farms,” the statement from Elia explains.

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/worlds-first-ever-artificial-energy-island-set-to-power-up-to-3-million-belgian-homes-76591