Nature-inclusive design approach planned for the Princess Elisabeth Island

Elia’s nature-inclusive design approach (NID) to the Princess Elisabeth Island demonstrates how offshore renewables can be developed hand-in-hand with biodiversity enhancement. Six NID measures, developed with experts, will be installed during the construction of the artificial energy hub to boost marine life around it. The island will advance Europe’s energy goals in a sustainable manner, serving as an example for future electricity infrastructure projects.

Highlights

• World’s first artificial energy island unites the construction of offshore infrastructure with measures designed to boost biodiversity.
• Six nature-inclusive design measures were selected through collaboration with over 16 organisations.
• The six measures, which will work together as part of a unique ecosystem approach, will be continuously monitored and adapted to deliver best possible biodiversity outcomes.

About this Practice

Elia, Belgium’s transmission system operator, has adopted an innovative nature-inclusive design (NID) approach for the construction of the world’s first artificial energy island: the Princess Elisabeth Island. Located 45 km off the Belgian coast, the island will serve as a crucial link between offshore wind farms and the mainland, while also serving as a landing point for (hybrid) interconnectors with neighbouring countries. The project aims to address two of Europe’s most pressing issues: the demand for renewable energy and the urgent need to protect and enhance biodiversity. Elia’s approach to the construction of the Princess Elisabeth Island has integrated biodiversity considerations into the energy hub project from the very beginning.

Elia has embedded six NID measures into the island’s design: (1) ledges on storm walls, providing resting and breeding spaces for sea birds; (2) relief panels, allowing smaller marine organisms to shelter and forage for food; (3) chaotic scour protection and (4) gravel beds, creating diverse habitats for marine life; (5) large boulders around the island, attracting varied species; and (6) oyster tables, boosting oyster reef restoration.

Each of these measures was selected based on their ability to have a lasting and tangible impact on marine life in the North Sea and on their ability to interact with other measures as part of a unique ecosystem approach. Elia will continuously monitor these measures and their impact. They will fine-tune, adapt or add new measures to the project to maximise their benefits and ensure they continue to benefit marine life.

The measures were tailored to the island’s North Sea environment and were scaled up for the project (the island’s foundations will stretch across 25 hectares on the seabed) as part of a co-creation approach, where Elia collaborated with over 16 partners, including universities, NGOs and marine conservation organisations. Elia’s project is a leading example of how large-scale energy infrastructure that will contribute to meeting Europe’s climate goals can integrate nature at its core.

The projects demonstrates that offshore electricity infrastructure can and should be developed with environmental stewardship in mind. Centring collaboration and nature, it will serve as an example for future on- and offshore infrastructure projects. The island has been designed to last for many years and we look forward to seeing how the project will simultaneously support renewable energy goals and the enhancement of local ecosystems.