Largest Offshore Wind Farm in Belgium Delivers First Power

Four of the turbines which have already been installed were connected to the power grid yesterday and started providing thousands of families with green power generated by the largest wind turbines in the country. Norther will provide electricity to 400.000 families in summer when all 44 turbines will be connected to the grid.

The installation of the 44 turbines started earlier this month while 12 turbines have already been installed so far. The first turbines are being connected to Stevin, the new high-voltage station of Elia in Zeebrugge. That way, the wind energy generated will flow into the power grid and will be sold to Engie (50%) and Eneco (50%).

"The first connection of Norther to the power grid is a landmark event in realising the targets for renewable energy in 2020. Through our Stevin connection point, that was taken into service in 2017, we can inject offshore wind power into our grid. In that way, Norther and Elia contribute to the integration of renewable energy in Belgium's electricity grid," says Chris Peeters, CEO of high-voltage operator Elia.

The Norther wind farm is located 23 kilometers off the Ostend harbour and has a total capacity of 370 MW, the largest capacity of all Belgian wind farms.

“With this project, Belgium takes a big step forward in reducing its CO2 emissions. This is a landmark for everyone working on this project: the team, the contractors, the shareholders and the authorities. Without them, we wouldn’t be at this point," says Dennis Sanou, Norther project director.