Chatham Partners advises Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ visionary large-scale energy island projects
Energy islands as pioneer projects in the offshore energy sector
We are proud to support Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ visionary large-scale energy island projects!
Together with insurance group Allianz, CIP is planning the construction of two artificial islands of approximately 50 hectares in the German North Sea. The energy islands could connect up to 10 GW offshore wind farms and host electrolyzers to generate green hydrogen directly offshore. Further hydrogen or power connections to other energy islands or neighboring states are further options for realization.
In our view, energy islands offer immense advantages for the energy transition. The German onshore power grid will be challenged when the legislative aim of 70 GW of offshore wind energy will be installed. The current approach in the German offshore sector to provide 1 MW of electrical grid connections for each 1 MW of generated offshore power is simply not suitable for achieving the ambitious German offshore expansion targets. Energy islands can provide a significant remedy here, in particular in cases of redispatch measures. In addition, generation of green hydrogen directly offshore offers the opportunity to save enormous costs and a considerable part of the currently planned energy infrastructure.
Moreover, the service ports installed on energy islands lead to a significant reduction in the operating costs of the surrounding offshore wind farms and equipping the islands with first-aid facilities will enable significantly more efficient health care for offshore personnel. In addition, defense infrastructure can be built on the islands, thus ensuring more effective protection of the surrounding offshore infrastructure.
Island infrastructures are both legally and technically highly complex. Nevertheless, the best time to discuss their construction in the German North Sea and Baltic Sea is now. Otherwise, their integration into the schedule for offshore expansion will become impossible. We are, thus, more than keen to support Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on this exciting journey!
