Elia halts HVDC portion of Princess Elisabeth Island
Elia Transmission Belgium is temporarily postponing the signing of the final high-voltage direct current (HVDC) contracts for Princess Elisabeth Island due to increased cost of the HVDC technology, the Belgian company said on Tuesday.
While the decision will lead to a delay of about three years, it gives the Belgian government more time to weigh all options.
The move concerns the DC portion of Princess Elisabeth Island. The construction of the artificial island itself and the implementation of the already-signed alternating current (HVAC) contracts remain on track, Elia said. This will connect two of the planned three offshore wind farms, with capacities of 700 MW and 1,400 MW. To connect the third wind farm, of 1,400 MW, Elia is negotiating for two HVDC converters- one on the island and one on the Belgian coast - that will also support a hybrid interconnector to the UK, the Nautilus project. The chosen supplier has set a deadline for Elia to award the contract by mid-February, so that it can be realised by the set timeframe, by 2032.
Belgium aims to increase its 2.3 GW of operational offshore wind capacity by adding up to 3.5 GW by 2032 across three plots in the Princess Elisabeth wind zone. The Princess Elisabeth Island is intended to bundle all high-voltage infrastructure for these future wind farms and also connect to other markets.
