Belgium is on track to solve issues of storing surplus electricity generated from offshore wind by building an artificial island in the North Sea.
It would be located 3 km off the coast near the town of Wenduine and built in shape of a doughnut, where excess energy would be stored by pumping water out of a hollow in the centre. The water would be let back in through turbines when power demand is higher than supply. Also, it would work as an offshore substation to transform the voltage of electricity generated from wind, Reuters writes.
This plan was revealed on Wednesday at the port of Zeebrugge by Belgium’s North Sea Minister Johan VandeLanotte, whose spokeswoman is cited by Reuters as saying that this is a great solution for storing wind energy when there is not enough demand for the electricity.
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Offshore WIND Staff, January 18, 2013; Image: C-Power N.V., photographer Tom D’Haenens