The grid operator Elia was granted a permit for the construction and operation of a high voltage offshore grid in the North Sea called “Belgian Offshore Grid” (BOG).
This week Ministers approved the project that would feature two substations, with one installed on an artificial island or platform west of the Lodewijkbank, 34 km off the coast, while the second one will be a regular offshore structure.
Elia has also been granted a license for geophysical and geotechnical research.
The start of the work is still unknown, but is said to depend on the Stevin project, a high-voltage line between Zeebrugge and Zomergem that would connect all Belgian offshore wind farms and subsea cables to the grid.
Offshore WIND staff, July 23, 2014; Image: elia