10 February 2021.
Introduction:
Denmark has given a green signal to a project to build a giant island providing enough energy for three million households.
Highlights
- The energy island will be used to produce and store enough green energy to meet the electricity demands of around 3 million European households.
- The artificial island in the North Sea will be equal to the size of the 18 football fields.
- The energy island will be linked to hundreds of offshore wind turbines so as to supply power to the households.
- It will also be used to supply green hydrogen to use in heavy transport, shipping, aviation and industry.
- The decision to build the energy island was taken in the backdrop of the European Union’s plan to transform its electricity system to rely on the renewable energy and to increase its offshore wind capacity 25 time by 2050.
Energy Island
The energy island will be constructed in the North Sea. The project will cost around 210 billion Danish crowns. It will be constructed 80 kms off the west coast of Denmark. The energy island will be surrounded by the wind turbines and it will have an initial capacity of 3 gigawatts. The country has planned to make the energy island operational by 2033.
Denmark’s renewable energy policy
Denmark has taken the decision to construct the energy island as a significant part of country’s target to cut down the greenhouse gas emissions up to 70% by 2030 as compared to the levels in 1990. This target is the most ambitious targets of the country which is legally binding.
North Sea
It is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean. The sea is surrounded by the Great Britain comprising of England & Scotland besides, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The sea connects to the ocean by an English Channel to the south and Norwegian Sea to the north.