Belgium sizing up 4.5GW of fresh offshore wind tenders 'by mid-decade': grid operator boss
National government in Brussels plans up to 2.5GW auction next year to be followed by further 2GW tender in 2025, Elia CEO Chris Peeters says
Belgium plans to hold an offshore wind tender for up to 2.5GW capacity next year, to be followed by an auction for another 2GW by 2025, the CEO of the country’s transmission system operator, Elia, said.
The government in Brussels is still discussing details of the auction, but the aim is to hold it in 2023, with first power delivery envisaged for 2027, Chris Peeters said.
“It will be the at least 2.1GW, likely 2.5GW, in the Princess Elisabeth zone,” he sated, adding that another 2GW are planned to be auctioned off in 2025 in a third offshore wind zone.
The small European nation, which has a coastline of only 67km, is currently has an operating offshore wind capacity of 2.3GW.
Peeters added that a discussion about the auction design is still ongoing – with some pleading for zero bid auctions like in the neighbouring Netherlands – but the CEO said: “I think in end, it will be a CfD [contracts for difference] like auction.”
How quickly offshore wind can be expanded in Belgium to a great degree depends on the speed of the grid expansion on land in the densely populated country, Peeters noted.
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