Last year in June, the Danish parliament passed legislation to construct two energy islands ushering in an era of large-scale offshore wind power. 

Luxembourg has joined the list of European partners that have signed political agreements with Denmark within the framework of the current project, including Germany, Belgium and France.  The energy islands, one in the Baltic Sea on the island of Bornholm and another artificial island to be constructed in the North Sea off the Danish coast, will be connected to hundreds of offshore wind turbines and are expected to supply 5GW of power, enough to meet the needs of 5 million households in Denmark. That will eventually increase to 12GW for export to neighboring countries as part of the green transition envisaged beyond borders. 3GW is already expected around 2030.   

The project is expected to cost about kr. 210bn or €28bn. However “It is not yet known how much Luxembourg will invest in the project," a ministry spokesperson told Delano.

Model of the artificial islands offshore the Danish coast- Photo: Energy Ministry

The agreement reached on 10 June is a milestone in Luxembourg-Denmark cooperation and is an essential step towards achieving the European goal of climate neutrality by 2050, which the European Commission estimates will require around 300GW to accomplish, with the industry experts estimating approximately 150GW in the North Sea and approximately 80GW in the Baltic Sea. Renewable energy production and green hydrogen will be promoted and subsequently decarbonize sectors such as heavy transport and industry in large parts of Europe, says Dan Jørgensen, Danish minister for climate, energy and utilities.

"Offshore wind will play an important role in the security of supply of the Western European electricity grid," said Luxembourg minister of energy, Claude Turmes (Déi Gréng). "I am pleased that Luxembourg, as a landlocked country, has the opportunity to actively participate in the development of the world's first offshore wind islands, and can thus contribute to this important development for energy transition. This cooperation with Denmark is meant to be complementary to the national strategy, which aims at accelerating the development of renewable energies in Luxembourg," he added.