WInd Energy – Energy Island
Ørsted and ATP, together with their partners Aarsleff, Bouygues Construction, and Van Oord, have presented their concept of a modular energy island for the forthcoming tender in the Danish North Sea.
The ‘North Sea Energy Island’ will be an island in constant development, even after its construction is completed.
It’s a dynamic piece of Danish history, designed to be the hub for the green transformation.
Determination and clear actions are required, when Europe in the coming decade will deliver its contribution to the Paris Climate Accords’ ambition of limiting temperature increases to 1.5 degrees while at the same time phasing out Russian gas and oil.
Renewable energy is a central part of the answer to both challenges, and the Danish part of the North Sea has the potential to drive a large part of the green transformation of Europe.
Denmark has taken the lead in finding ways to realise the enormous renewable potential of the North Sea. The Danish Parliament’s decision to build an energy island in the North Sea marks a new era in the shift towards renewables, and if the island is designed correctly, it can become a key to the green transformation of Denmark and Europe.
The North Sea Energy Island consists of a small artificial island, which can be expanded with flexible modules that can be added and replaced as required.
The modules are built onshore and connected to the North Sea Energy Island, meaning that the island can easily be upgraded to accommodate more than the 10 GW of offshore wind power that is Denmark’s current ambition.
It can also be adapted to accommodate the rapid developments in Power-to-X and other technologies in both 2030 and 2050.
The flexible modules are the most future-proof solution. It is also the direct way to deliver large amounts of green power as quickly as possible. The modules can be built on land, while the reclaimed island and offshore wind turbines are built at sea, which will result in great time savings during the construction phase.
With this flexible, modular concept, Ørsted and ATP estimate that the energy island in the North Sea can deliver green power two years before an inflexible, contained island.
In this way, the partnership will build an energy island that can be quickly commissioned, and is prepared for an unknown technological future from the very beginning, and that can serve as the hub for offshore wind and new green technologies for decades to come.
See video presentation below.
