Belgium Considers Hitting Offshore Wind Reset Button

Belgium’s Secretary for the North Sea Philippe De Backer has suggested that the government should revoke concessions granted to three offshore wind projects and instead carry out a tendering procedure similar to those in Germany, Denmark or the Netherlands, according to local media.

De Backer will propose to the government to revoke the concessions for the 246MW Seastar and the 300MW Mermaid, awarded to Otary, and the 224MW Northwester II, awarded to the consortium of Colryut, TTR energy, InControl, and Wagram Invest.

The three projects would then be tendered and awarded to developers with the most competitive bids, De Backer said.

Speaking of the current concessions, De Backer described them as ”a win-for-life for the owners, and a pay-for-life for consumers and the state”.

De Backer also added that the cancellation of the concessions is feasible and that the possible compensations to the developers would be outweighed by potential savings.