Offshore windmills provide energy for 600,000 Belgian households

The three wind farms located in the North Sea last year produced more than 2.2 million megawatt (MW) hours of electricity, accounting for the annual consumption of 623,715 households, reports federal State Secretary for the North Sea, Bart Tommelein in De Morgen.

Tommelein calls it an “impressive result”, especially since the third wind park, Northwind, only became operational in May. There are 182 active windmills in Belgian waters, spread over three parks (C-Power, Belwind and Northwind). Their combined production is equivalent to a small power plant. Tommelein would like to see their capacity double in the coming years, thanks in part to the construction of five additional wind farms.

"Once all the windmills are in place, the North Sea will deliver as much as 50% of Belgium’s annual household electricity needs,”says Tommelein. According to him, the construction of the wind farms will also lead to the creation of 20,000 new jobs during the development and construction phase, and 800 permanent jobs in the operational phase.