World's First Ever Artificial Energy Island Set To Power Up To 3 Million Belgian Homes

5 min read//

You know, they say that complicated problems require creative solutions, but inventing a never-before-seen type of island and then building it off the coast of Belgium is definitely a new one to us.

Nevertheless, that’s precisely what’s happening: the European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a €650 million (around US$705 million) loan for the construction of Princess Elisabeth Island – a landmass set to be the world’s first ever artificial “energy island”.

It’s a project being run by Belgium’s high-voltage grid operator Elia Transmission Belgium. Once complete, the company projects an output of 3.5 gigawatts of energy to help power the small European country – enough to power more than 3 million households, notes a statement from Elia.

Rather than generating power, like the huge offshore wind farms that populate the seas nearby, Princess Elisabeth Island will act more like a central hub for energy: “The high-voltage infrastructure installed on the island will bundle together the export cables of the Princess Elisabeth Zone wind farms,” the statement from Elia explains.

Hosting both high-voltage direct current (HVDC) and alternating current (HVAC) infrastructure, the island’s interconnectors will “perform two functions at once,” the company boasts, “meaning that their design is more efficient than that of most current interconnectors.”

While the island’s primary task will be to reduce Belgium’s high reliance on fossil fuel-generated energy, eventually the hope is to connect up with other European countries. This international approach is why it’s qualified for such substantial support from the EIB, as well as being backed by the EU’s REPowerEU initiative, which aims to secure affordable and sustainable green energy for the bloc.