Belgium should reap the rewards offered by floating offshore wind, a trade fair in Ostend has learned.
“That’s the right choice, as this technology will become more and more economical,” West Flanders deputy Jean de Bethune told attendees at the opening of the Belgian Offshore Days conference.
This year’s conference, the fourth, is focused on the floating technology, despite the country having shallow waters offshore.
WindEurope floating offshore wind task force chairman Bruno Geschier said that floating wind had a tremendous potential worldwide.
He predicted an “explosion” of floating wind in terms of construction and installation within five or six years.
“We are all waiting for the few extra GW to be built off Belgium, but Belgium’s supply chain and stakeholders should look beyond the country’s borders – also for the sake of their own visibility,” he said.
WindEurope is predicting about 350MW of floating wind energy will be installed in Europe alone by 2021.
Roughly 900 people have registered for the conference and trade fair, up from 700 last year, with 45 companies exhibiting.
Image: reNEWS
Belgians trumpet floating future
By EBS