- The SeaMade wind farm was officially inaugurated today in the presence of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the North Sea Vincent Van Quickenborne, Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten, and Mayor of Ostend Bart Tommelein. SeaMade NV is responsible for the simultaneous development of the Mermaid and Seastar offshore wind farms, resulting in the largest wind farm ever financed and built in Belgium
- SeaMade was developed by a consortium of Otary, Ocean Winds and Eneco. It is managed by Otary and, together with the Rentel wind farm, provides almost 800 MW (100 turbines) of offshore capacity in the North Sea
- OCEAN WINDS, a global offshore wind energy company, has been involved in this project which has a capacity of 487MW, representing an annual potential of 1.8 TWh, which was built and delivered during the Covid-19 pandemic. The project is the largest infrastructure project in Belgium before the end of 2020, on time and on budget
- SeaMade makes a major contribution to Belgium’s renewable energy development targets by supplying green energy to 500,000 households, equivalent to a reduction of more than 700,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year
Madrid, Octorber 20th 2021.- Today, Wednesday 20 October, the SeaMade offshore wind farm at the Ostend Hippodrome was officially inaugurated. SeaMade is the second wind farm built by Otary, together with Eneco and Ocean Winds, joint venture created by EDP Renewables and ENGIE (50:50), specialized in offshore wind power generation.
The inauguration took place in the presence of the board of directors and its shareholders, investors, (sub)contractors and the SeaMade project team. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the North Sea Vincent Van Quickenborne, Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten, and Ostend Mayor Bart Tommelein were also present at the inauguration.
Renewable energy for 500,000 Belgian households
SeaMade has been operational since the end of 2020. The offshore wind farm was delivered on time and within budget. SeaMade consists of 58 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 487MW that generate 1.8 TWh of renewable energy annually, able to supply energy to 500,000 Belgian households. SeaMade NV is responsible for the simultaneous development of both the Mermaid and Seastar offshore wind farms, resulting in the largest wind farm ever financed and built in Belgium. Mermaid is the furthest zone in the Belgian North Sea, about 50km from the Ostend coastline. Via export cables in the seabed, the electricity from the sea is linked to Elia’s offshore transmission grid and then brought ashore.
Offshore wind energy essential for climate goals
SeaMade is making a strong contribution to the binding target to obtain 13% of our energy from renewable energy sources by 2020. Half of the renewable energy production comes from offshore wind energy, of which a quarter of the required offshore energy production of the SeaMade project.
Since the end of 2020, after the commissioning of the last offshore wind farms in the North Sea, offshore wind energy has accounted for no less than 10% of total Belgian electricity consumption.
Offshore wind has become a crucial player in the energy landscape that needs to develop further with a capacity that can double to triple in the next 10 years. To ensure a successful energy transition, it is also essential to develop a long-term vision for the integration of sustainable energy sources.
Wouter Vandekerkhove Deputy CEO of SeaMade and Country Manager for Ocean Winds, a joint venture between ENGIE and EDPR: “SeaMade, the largest offshore wind farm in Belgium, has been created thanks to the collaboration and expertise of various partners and we are pleased that as part of the project team we have contributed to the development, realisation and now the operation of this important wind farm in our North Sea.” “Ocean Winds, wants to play a pioneering role in the energy transition in Belgium, in which offshore wind energy plays a very important role. Our ambition is to have 1000 megawatts at sea by 2030, also in consortia such as this one.”
