Earlier this year, the Danes reached a landmark agreement on the construction of an energy hub in the North Sea. The energy hub will be an artificially constructed island 80 kms from Jutland.
The energy hub will produce green electricity and is one of the Danish government’s flagship projects for the green transition in Europe. Fully implemented it will be able to cover the consumption of 10 million European households.
The hub will strengthen the integration of Europe’s power grids and increase renewable electricity production necessary for a climate neutral Europe. Furthermore, it will serve as an offshore power plant gathering and distributing green electricity from hundreds of wind turbines surrounding the island directly to consumers in countries surrounding the North Sea.
The island is expected to have a total area of at least 120.000 square meters and in its first phase, it will be able to provide 3 million European households with green energy.
The project is a public-private partnership that seeks the ambitious goal of a 70% emission reduction by 2030. The State will own the majority of the island, but private companies are invited to join the project to fulfil the potential as regards to innovation, flexibility, cost-effectiveness and business potential.
Here are excellent links to the project: Cleantech Wind Power Hydrogen Infrastructure Power-to-X
Two energy hubs and associated offshore windfarms are being established. One as an artificial island in the North Sea (No. 19 on the map) and one at the Danish island Bornholm (No. 18 on the map).
The abundance of offshore wind energy can be used to produce climate-friendly fuels for shipping, aviation, heavy industries or heavy-duty vehicles. The two hubs initial capacity will be 5 GW triple the current installed offshore capacity in Denmark. Later they will be expanded to provide a capacity of 12 GW in total. In the North Sea, the island and offshore windfarms will be located at least 80 km west of the coast of Jutland. Around 200 wind turbines are expected in the first phase of the project. An energy hub serves as a hub that collects electricity from the surrounding offshore windfarms and distributes the electricity between countries connected via the electricity grid.
Illustrations: Danish Energy Agency.
