The Belgian Council of Ministers has, on suggestion of Minister of Energy Marie Christine Marghem, given approval to a royal decree which allows offshore wind farms Rentel and Norther to connect directly to the Elia onshore network.
This royal decree was granted because of the framework of the law from May 8, 2014 containing various provisions on (renewable) energy. The decision gives these wind parks the possibility to connect to the grid in time to apply for a subsidy for submarine cables. Through this subsidy the Belgian the Government provides an active contribution to achieving the renewable energy goals of 13% by 2020.
Rentel wind farm is owned by nine companies including DEME, Otary, Electrawinds and others, will have a total capacity of up to 294MW.
Norther will comprise up to 58 turbines with a maximum capacity of 350MW. It is developed by joint venture between Eneco and Elicio.