Germany and Denmark will build a joint wind energy center worth €9 billion in the Baltic Sea. This will be a significant step towards Europeʼs refusal of Russian gas.
Bloomberg writes about it.
The project will be called Bornholm Energy Island. It will connect several wind farms and distribute the energy produced by them between the two countries. The plant will have a capacity of more than 3 gigawatts — enough energy for 4.1 million households. It is planned to be launched in 2030.
"This is the first time in Europe that two countries have cooperated in such a project," said German Energy Minister Robert Habeck.
According to the Danish government, €3 billion is needed for infrastructure and €6 billion for the construction of a wind farm. German network provider 50Hartz and Denmarkʼs Energinet will share costs and profits from the project.
"We will make sure that this deal is also beneficial for taxpayers. It takes a lot of trust and desire between the two countries to be able to take on a project of this magnitude," said Danish Energy Minister Dan Jorgensen.
After launch, other Baltic countries and Poland will be able to join the project. Germany and Denmark have agreed that the participation of any new partner must be agreed upon by both sides.
According to the Minister of Energy of Germany, the "energy island" will be located near large pipelines through which Russian gas is transported to Europe.
"But now it will be our own energy, not Russian gas," added Robert Habek.
- Since June 16, “Gazprom” has reduced supplies of the “Nord Stream” gas pipeline to 40% of the nominal capacity, explaining this by the fact that Canada, due to sanctions, did not return the turbine needed for the gas pipeline. Canada made an exception to sanctions against Russia, repaired the turbine and sent it to Germany, but Russia has not yet picked it up. Against this background, Russiaʼs “Gazprom” has once again reduced “Nord Stream” gas supplies to 20% of the pipeʼs capacity.
- On August 19, “Gazprom” reported the suspension of gas pumping to the EU through “Nord Stream” until August 31, referring to the repair of the only working turbine. This caused a significant increase in gas prices in the EU.
- On August 19, Bundestag Deputy Speaker Wolfgang Kubicki advocated the opening of “Nord Stream 2” to fill gas storage facilities for the winter. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called it "drug addiction."
- The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Annalena Berbock, in turn, opposed the launch of the Russian gas pipeline "Nord Stream — 2", emphasizing the energy crisis that arose against the background of the stoppage of gas supplies to Europe through "Nord Stream — 1".