European demand for energy is growing. The European Union aims to provide a guaranteed, affordable and climate-friendly energy supply for its residents and businesses. It has formulated objectives for 2020, 2030 and 2050.
Belgium is choosing to build renewable energy sources, such as wind farms, in order to meet its targets. This means that CO₂ emissions will be lower. In the Belgian section of the North Sea, more precisely off the coast of Zeebrugge, a number of wind farms are already in operation, with a total of 200 turbines. A new one, this time near De Panne, is planned in the coming years. According to the Secretary of State responsible for the North Sea Philippe De Backer, this should allow the present green energy capacity from existing wind farms to be doubled. In time, over 2,000,000 Belgian families should be able to benefit from clean ‘North Sea wind energy’.
The new turbines are to be installed 40 kilometres off the coast, which is somewhat deeper into the sea and less visible than the current generation.
