Federal Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Groen) and her Norwegian counterpart Terje Aasland have signed a joint declaration on energy cooperation in the North Sea. The aim is to politically support a future connection between the Belgian and Norwegian networks, including Scandinavian offshore wind farms. The Belgian (Elia) and Norwegian (Statnett) network managers are already working on this possibility.
Interconnection is of particular importance for access to green energy at any time, underlined Ms Van der Straeten. “If the wind does not blow in Belgium, it is often present in Norway, and vice versa,” she noted. Norwegian electricity can be transported to Belgian lands via the Princess Elisabeth energy island, under construction off the Belgian coast.
Federal Minister for the North Sea Paul Van Tigchelt (Open VLD) and Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon (N-VA) also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Norwegian Ministry of Energy for the construction of a pipeline for transporting CO2 from Belgium to Norway.
Norway does indeed have options for storing the pollutant carbon dioxide in empty gas fields off its coast.
The Belgian gas network manager Fluxys and the Norwegian Equinor are already preparing the project. The memorandum of understanding is expected to result in a bilateral agreement.
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