📋 Tender Overview
Reference: 20240726
Release date: 2 April 2025
Promoter – Financial Intermediary
SPECIAL PURPOSE ENTITY(IES)/FUND
Location
Belgium
Description
The loan will finance the construction and operation of an offshore wind farm with a capacity of approximately 700 MW, located off the Belgian coast. It will be built in the first of the three plots making up the Princess Elisabeth Zone (PEZ), totalling 3.5 GW over the three plots. The project includes the inter-array underground cables and connection to the Modular offshore Grid 2 island (MOG2 or Princess Elisabeth Island), located 45 km off the Belgian coast, which will act as an electricity hub connecting the whole PEZ to the onshore electrical transmission grid. The Princess Elisabeth Island and related transmission infrastructure to connect it to the on-shore grid are not part of the project scope.
Objectives
The operation supports EU renewable energy objectives and supports Belgium in meeting its commitments with respect to greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, as set out in its National Energy and Climate Plan. Achieving the targets requires substantial additional private and public capital compared to business-as-usual trends. The financing of this project is in line with the EIB's priority energy lending related to renewable energy and climate action. The project is expected to contribute to climate action and environmental sustainability (CA&ES) objectives, in particular to climate mitigation. It helps addressing negative environmental externalities; a market failure, by limiting the emissions of carbon and other air pollutants.
Sector(s)
Energy - Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply
Proposed EIB finance (Approximate amount)
EUR 1000 million
Total cost (Approximate amount)
EUR 2500 million
Environmental aspects
Wind farms fall under Annex II of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 2011/92/EU as amended by the Directive 2014/52/EU, thereby leaving it to the competent authority to determine if an EIA is required. The project was subject to an EIA process and the competent authority issued an environmental consent on the 21 November 2024 (Ministerial decree granting the Federal Public Service Economy, SMEs, Self-Employed and Energy, Directorate-General Energy an authorisation for construction, an operating permit and a Natura-2000 permit for an offshore wind farm and the cables in lot 1 of the Princess Elisabeth zone in the marine areas under Belgian jurisdiction). The closest Natura 2000 site is the SAC Vlaamse Banken (BEMNZ0001), at c. 8 kms from the wind farm and c. 1 km from the Princess Elisabeth Island where the inter-arrays cables of the wind farm will connect to the transformer station. The export cables from the Princess Elisabeth Island to the shore cross SPA 2 (BEMNZ0002) and SPA 3 (BEMNZ0004). The Princess Elisabeth Island, including its electrical infrastructure, and the export cables to the shore are not part of the scope of
