About 80 kilometres from the coast of Jutland, Denmark is planning the world’s first artificial island for storing offshore energy. According to Danish Environment Minister Dan Jørgensen, the North Sea project, worth roughly €28.2 billion, will be able to provide power to several European countries. As such, the largest construction project in national history will contribute to the collective EU goal of climate neutrality by 2050.
The energy-island is envisioned as an offshore power plant that will produce, collect and distribute electricity from hundreds of surrounding wind turbines. In the first phase of the project, just about 200 turbines will be connected, generating a capacity of three gigawatts that can supply around three million households in Europe. In the long term, the plan is to increase capacity to ten gigawatts, or ten million households. However, the date when construction work can begin, is still unclear.
A further, smaller hub on the Baltic island of Bornholm is being planned as well. The energy generated here will be used directly but can also be converted and utilized for other purposes, e.g. in buses and cars. The plants are part of Denmark’s mission to reduce the country’s CO2 emissions by 70% by 2030 compared to the reference year 1990.