Following their cooperation in the SeaMade offshore wind farm, which became operational in 2020, Eneco, Ocean Winds and Otary are forming another consortium to participate in the tenders for the three concessions of the Princess Elisabeth Zone.
Three prominent energy companies announce the formation of a strategic partnership to participate together in the tendering of the three concessions in the new Princess Elisabeth Zone for offshore wind energy. Eneco, Ocean Winds and Otary are already partners in the SeaMade offshore wind farm, which has been operational since the end of 2020.
The consortium wishes to participate in the upcoming tenders for the Princess Elisabeth zone. These will be split into three lots with a capacity of 700, 1,225 and 1,400 megawatts. The consortium expects the first tender to take place in 2025.
Complex tender
“These tenders will be complex, given the Belgian government’s ambition to realise the new offshore wind farms on a very tight schedule, at the lowest price for society and this while the grid infrastructure is still under development,” says ceo Mathias van Otary. “As a Belgian company and specialist in offshore wind energy, we want to remain at the forefront of the energy transition in our country. Our past cooperation with Ocean Winds and Eneco has been very successful and brings together the elements required by the government for the new concessions.”
The consortium expects stiff competition from leading global players. “By leveraging our local presence and experience, we aim to submit the most competitive bid,” Verkest said.
Major players
With a renewable generation capacity of more than 2.5 gigawatts, Eneco Group is a leading player in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the UK. Since 2007, it has been involved in eight wind farms in the North Sea, including the Belgian projects Norther and SeaMade. Ocean Winds (a 50-50 joint venture between Engie and EDPR) has 1.5 gigawatts of offshore wind power in eight countries and 2 gigawatts under construction in France and the UK. Otary has 800 megawatts in portfolio in Belgium.
Preparatory works are still underway for the Princess Elisabeth zone, including the construction of the Princess Elisabeth Island for Elia’s offshore grid connection. There is also ongoing work on the Ventilus and Boucle du Hainait projects to reinforce the onshore high-voltage grid.
