The governments of Germany and Denmark have agreed to enhance the capacity of Bornholm Energy Island, an offshore wind hub in the Danish part of the Baltic Sea. As per the agreement, a 470 km underwater cable will be used to transmit renewable energy from the energy island with an increase in capacity of offshore wind from 2 GW to 3 GW.
Bornholm Energy Island will increase electricity trade between the two countries while supplying enough clean energy to run almost 4.5 million homes in Germany. The action is anticipated to lessen their energy dependence on Russia. The offshore wind hub will be built jointly by Denmark and Germany, who will share as much of the costs and benefits as possible. Additionally, the two countries will collaborate on potential connections to the energy island, which is expected to go online in 2030.
In March 2022, the German Federal Network Agency awarded RWE two onshore wind projects in an onshore wind power infrastructure auction. The Grevenbroich wind farm in North Rhine-Westphalia has a total installed capacity of 45 MW, whereas the Bartelsdorf 2 project is in Lower Saxony. The Grevenbroich wind farm would have a total installed capacity of 17.1 MW, and construction is planned to start in the second quarter of 2022. The plant, which would be equipped with three 5.7 MW Nordex turbines, is projected to be operational by the end of 2022.
REGlobal’s Views: Offshore wind deployment is taking centerstage in Europe’s energy strategy as the continent moves towards ensuring energy security and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. In this regard, offshore wind hubs or energy islands are gaining importance, as these projects located in the sea will generate massive volumes of clean wind power. This can be transported to European countries via transmission systems or even used for producing green hydrogen which can be further exported or stored for future use.
