Denmark postpones tender for North Sea energy island project

The project involved building an artificial island in the North Sea to serve as a hub for collecting and distributing energy generated by surrounding offshore wind turbines. The government will consider alternative options to reduce costs, the Danish ministry said, according to Reuters.

Denmark approved a plan in early February 2021 to build the world's first energy island, which it said could generate and store enough green energy to meet the electricity needs of three million European households.

The Energy Ministry and the Danish Energy Agency have since refined the original concept and now estimate that the project would cost more than $7.35 billion.

"The project is thus far from being profitable, which is a clear condition for the project in the political agreements," the Energy Ministry said in its statement. The government added that it remains committed to building the energy island, but that it is necessary to study alternatives that could make the project profitable given the current economic problems.

The decision on how to move forward with the project and the publication of tender documents will be postponed until later this year, the ministry said.