Denmark Unveils Plan for Up to 3.8 GW Bornholm Energy Island

May 14, 2024, by Adnan Memija

The Danish Energy Agency (DEA) has revealed its Plan for Program Bornholm Energy Island, outlining the framework for the future energy island at Bornholm and the adjacent coastal areas.

The project is planned to consist of an offshore wind farm south of Bornholm with a 3.8 GW capacity as well as high-voltage installations on Bornholm and Zealand.

The plan sets the overall framework for future construction projects for Bornholm Energy Island, taking into consideration the environmental issues and planning restrictions in the area, such as bird protection areas, defense areas, and ship traffic routes, DEA said.

The plan does not allow for the construction of facilities.

The DEA’s decision can be appealed to the Energy Complaints Board for four weeks until 10 June.

The Danish government approved the development of two energy islands, Bornholm Energy Island and North Sea Energy Island, back in 2020. The following year, the government and the TSO Energinet started exploring increasing the initially planned capacity of 2 GW for Bornholm Energy Island to 3 GW.

In the summer of 2022, the Danish government and the country’s political parties signed an agreement on expanding the planned offshore wind capacity to 3 GW. At the same time, Denmark and Germany entered into an agreement to jointly build a subsea connection that will run from the energy island to Germany.

In spring 2023, the government entered into an agreement with a broad majority of the country’s parties that secured the framework for the upcoming auctions.

Under this political agreement, the so-called “overplanting” option was agreed upon, which could bring more offshore wind capacity than planned, Bornholm Energy Island included, where 3.8 GW could be connected with overplanting allowed.

The DEA is currently preparing the upcoming tender for offshore wind for Bornholm Energy Island.