An offshore wind farm is to be built off the Belgian North Sea coast. The EU Commission has decided that the country can support the construction and operation with state aid. A lot of money is at stake.
Belgium is allowed to support the expansion of wind power in its own country with 682 million euros. The EU Commission has, according to its own information, approved corresponding state aid for the construction and operation of an offshore wind farm off the Belgian North Sea coast.
“This measure will help reduce Belgium’s dependence on fossil fuels from Russia. At the same time, the scheme will ensure that any distortions of competition are kept to a minimum,” said outgoing Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
The approval was granted on the basis of the so-called Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework. This is a temporary EU funding instrument to support the production of climate-neutral, strategically important technologies in Europe at an early stage. The planned wind farm is expected to have a capacity of 700 megawatts and generate at least 2.6 terawatt hours of green electricity per year.
Source: Stern
