Energy Island Project in the North Sea
The government has agreed to build two "energy islands", with a minimum capacity of 4GW, the first of its kind in the world. In order to achieve its goal of climate neutrality by 2050, the Danish government intends to convert low-carbon electricity from the energy islands to green hydrogen which could be further processed into fuels. The islands would also provide low-carbon energy to other European states, in compliance with the Paris Agreement objectives. In the North Sea, an artificial island is under construction with a minimum of 2 GW offshore wind connected by 2030, to Denmark and the Netherlands, with a long term capacity reaching 10 GW offshore wind. In the Baltic Sea, Bornholm will be made an energy island to establish and connect up to 2 GW of offshore wind by 2030 with connections to Poland.
On 2 September 2021, Denmark’s political parties agreed on the ownership of its 210 billion Danish crowns ($34 billion) man-made energy island in the North Sea. This island will support infrastructure for Denmark's offshore wind parks providing electricity to millions homes, with the target to achieve a 70% reduction in GHG emissions compared to 1990 levels by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2050.
Denmark and the private partners will own shares in the project and share the revenue accordingly. Strategic partnerships have been agreed with countries as follows: Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which does not have a coastal line.
On 23 September 2021, the Danish Energy Agency published Discussion Paper II regarding the procurement framework for the construction and the co-ownership of the Energy Island.
On 6 December 2021, the Government of Denmark published the Budget Agreement for 2022. Under this, the Danish government has approved the creation of a 3 GW offshore wind energy island located 80 km from the shore of Jutland. It could be later expanded to a capacity of 10 GW at a later stage, for a total investment of DKK 210 billion(€28 billion).
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