Eneco, Ocean Winds (the EDP Renewables and Engie joint venture) and Otary have announced the formation of a strategic partnership to jointly compete in the tender for the offshore wind Princess Elisabeth concessions in Belgium.
Already partners in the country with the 487MW SeaMade offshore wind farm (pictured), successfully operating since end of 2020, the consortium brings together unparalleled expertise and experience in generating clean energy from offshore wind, while unlocking local opportunities and creating local jobs, said the developers.
The consortium was formed to compete in the upcoming tenders for the Princess Elisabeth Zone (PEZ), that will be split into three lots: one for the development of a 700MW offshore wind farm and two lots for the development of offshore arrays each ranging from 1.2GW to 1.4GW.
All of the wind farms will be located in areas that allow for bottom-fixed technology.
The consortium plans to participate in each of the upcoming tenders for PEZ, with the first expected for 2025.
Preparatory work is already underway, including site assessments by the government and the construction of the Princess Elisabeth Island for the offshore grid connection by Elia. Nevertheless, significant work remains to ensure timely project realization, including the Ventilus and Boucle du Hainaut projects for the onshore grid reinforcement.
“Ocean Winds is thrilled to partner once again with Otary and Eneco for the Princess Elisabeth offshore wind tenders,” said Ocean Winds country manager Belgium and Netherlands Wouter Vandekerkhove.
“Our participation will be based on our international expertise and experience from our three operational offshore wind farms and four under construction, combined with Otary and Eneco’s local knowledge.
“We are looking forward to expanding the positive impacts of the successfully operating SeaMade wind farm to bring more clean energy from offshore wind for Belgium’s energy transition.”
Otary chief executive Mathias Verkest said: “The Princess Elisabeth tenders will be complex, based on the Belgian’s Government ambition to realise the new offshore wind farms on a very tight time schedule, at the lowest price for society and while grid infrastructure is still under development.
“As a Belgian company and offshore wind specialist, Otary wants to continue being at the forefront of our country’s energy transition. Our historical partnership with Ocean Winds and Eneco has been very successful and brings together the elements required by the government to be successful again on PEZ.”
Eneco Wind Belgium chief executive Miguel de Schaetzen added: “With our One Planet Plan we act on a real ambition: becoming climate neutral by 2035. In order to do so we need to further speed up our investments in renewable energy.
“(We are) proud and grateful to being a part of this consortium with expert partners – whom we have a long-term relationship with – we reinforce Eneco’s leading position in the energy transition and we walk the talk: supplying all of our customers with 100% locally produced green electricity.”