Germany and Belgium eye hybrid cross-border offshore wind link
Interconnection for wind at sea seen as contributing to future meshed offshore grid in North Sea
Belgian energy minister Tinne Van der Straeten and German energy state secretary Philipp Nimmermann have agreed to examine the development of a hybrid offshore wind link to leverage the regional potential for wind at sea and connect it across borders.
While the two countries don’t share a common sea border – the Netherlands lie in between them – they said their future cooperation is intended to contribute to the development of a meshed offshore grid in the North Sea.
The two energy ministries called on their responsible transmission system operators to examine options for such a regional grid project, to involve other parties if needed and report to the energy ministers by the next North Sea Summit in June next year.
Belgium and Germany in 2020 have opened a direct power interconnection between the two countries, the ALEGrO link, and are also planning a joint hydrogen pipeline. They will jointly organize the 2025 North Sea Summit.
Belgium has a target to reach 6GW of offshore wind capacity in 2030 and 8GW by 2040, while Germany aims at at least 30GW by 2030 and 70GW by 2045.
(Copyright)