The Danish Energy Agency today formally announced that, as expected, it will build an artificial island in the North Sea, 50 miles off the coast of the Jutland Peninsula. This green energy hub, when completed, is expected to provide 10 GW: approximately the energy needs of 10 million households across Europe. Measuring around 120,000 square meters, the artificial island will receive, store and transmit energy from nearby wind farms back to the coast. Reuters reports that the project is likely to cost about $ 34 billion and is expected to be operational by 2033.
The authorities add that, eventually, the island is expected to house a “green fuel” plant that could then be sent to Denmark. It is likely to be an extension of the Danish plan to use surplus wind energy to operate an electrolyser to extract hydrogen from seawater without any CO2 emissions. And Denmark, which is one of the European Union’s biggest oil producers, hopes to use this island to help renew its own energy industry. The nation said earlier that it will stop extracting fossil fuels entirely by 2050 and has already stopped offering bids to companies for future exploration.