50Hertz and Energinet welcome EU Support – next steps depend on regulatory clarity
The Danish-German energy project Bornholm Energy Island in the Baltic Sea has received 645 million EUR in EU funding. Now regulatory path for the project must be defined.
The European Commission has provided funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program in the amount of 645 million EUR - underlining the importance of green transition for The European Union and providing financial support for the world’s first hybrid direct current interconnector.
The project, which is jointly developed by grid operators 50Hertz and Energinet, includes a power hub on the island of Bornholm with two converters, direct current connections to the Danish and German mainland and additional converter systems there for converting direct current into alternating current. This infrastructure will be used to harvest the planned three gigawatts of power from offshore wind farms of Bornholm and make it available to the electricity markets in Germany and Denmark in line with demand. To this end, it is the first time Energinet and 50Hertz have issued a joint tender of cross border electrical infrastructure.
Bornholm Energy Island is an innovative project that can serve as a model for further interconnections in the North and Baltic Seas. Before the start of the next project phase, which includes the signing of contracts for converters, transformers and other substation technology, regulatory clarity is needed. Consequently, the signing of contracts in the ongoing tender will not yet be done.
Energinet and 50Hertz will continue their close cooperation in dialogue with the Danish and German governments.
