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An ambitious plan from Denmark would create so-called “energy islands” surrounded by wind turbines on the high seas to harvest abundant renewable energy.
According to the Danish Energy Agency, these artificially generated waystations will allow hundreds of wind farms to be installed far from the coast, collecting power and distributing it to the mainland via cables from the island’s energy storage hub. It is said that it will be possible to do so.
In the latest step to realize this concept, the investment firm working on the group of islands has established a new company called Copenhagen Energy Islands. My mission is to see the plan through to the end.
One of the first islands under construction will be located more than 92 miles off the North Sea and will provide enough energy for 10 million homes, according to a video clip from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the investor group that launched the new company. It is said that it will function as a supply conduit.
The partners’ plans call for creating 10 islands, according to a news release.
Denmark has set the benchmark for offshore wind power since the early 1990s, when it built the world’s first offshore wind farm. Officials now see these islands as essential as renewable power becomes a game-changing force for the Earth’s power system.
“The challenge for offshore wind power is not to build offshore wind farms incrementally, but how to integrate large-scale offshore wind energy into the global energy system. We believe that this is an important tool to help solve this challenge and realize our ambitious offshore wind ambitions for wind power around the world,” said Jacob Baruel, founder of Energy Partners.・Poulsen said in a release.
Bloomberg reported that the multi-island plan is expected to take shape over “the next several decades” and has a price tag of $163 billion. In addition to wind power, the islands will also produce “green” hydrogen, the story goes.
Benefits cited by the partners include reducing transmission costs, realizing synergies between hydrogen and wind power, and making more efficient use of existing technologies.
Officials said in a statement that the 10 islands are located “in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and around Southeast Asia.”
Renderings of the island look both futuristic and idyllic, complete with observation decks, green space, and a helicopter airfield. It is the size of a town and appears to be surrounded by turbines.
This isn’t the only iteration of the island concept, but it hasn’t come without setbacks. Denmark’s government announced in the summer that it would scrutinize a proposal more thoroughly, citing higher-than-expected costs.
Bloomberg reported on the hurdles to producing green hydrogen offshore, including securing sources of fresh water needed for the process. The article also points out that the islands may be vulnerable to “attacks.”
But the new company is proof that investors are keen to promote ocean energy hubs.
“If we want to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, we need to scale up the deployment of offshore wind and other renewable energy to unprecedented levels,” Poulsen said in the release.
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