funding for Bornholm Energy Island

Transmission system operators Energinet (Denmark) and 50Hertz (Germany) today signed contracts with the European Commission for EU funding under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). This marks another decisive step towards the realization of the cross-border offshore cooperation project Bornholm Energy Island.

Today's signing secures CEF funding of €645 million – one of the highest grants in the history of the CEF for an energy infrastructure project.

The project is a joint initiative of Energinet and 50Hertz. Offshore wind turbines from a wind farm off Bornholm with a capacity of 3 gigawatts (GW) will be connected to the European power grid via the project. From the 2030s onwards, the new lines will transmit 2 GW of electricity to Germany and 1.2 GW to the Danish mainland. At the same time, the connection will provide a transmission point between the Danish and the German electricity grid.

The combination of an interconnection point between two states and a connection point for offshore wind power makes the project the first of its kind. It marks an important step for the cross-border expansion of renewable energies, enables the efficient integration of wind power into the European grid, and strengthens joint energy security. Bornholm Energy Island is thus considered a flagship project and a model for further cooperation projects of this kind in Europe.