Belgium has signed various energy agreements with Norway aimed at facilitating Norwegian wind power for Belgium in exchange for storing Belgian industrial CO2 emissions in Norway.
Belgian officials are currently on an economic mission to the Scandinavian country, with deals having been sealed in Oslo on Tuesday. The objective is to politically support future connectivity between the Belgian and Norwegian power grids, including Scandinavian offshore wind farms.
Federal Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten alongside her Norwegian counterpart Terje Aasland, has signed a joint statement on North Sea energy cooperation. Both Belgian (Elia) and Norwegian (Statnett) network managers are actively exploring this possibility.
The interconnection is crucial for Belgium to have continuous access to green energy, emphasised Van der Straeten. "If the wind is not blowing in Belgium, it often is in Norway, and vice versa," she added.
Norwegian electricity will also be transported to Belgium via the Princess Elisabeth energy island, currently under construction off the Belgian coast.
Federal Minister for the North Sea, Paul Van Tigchelt, alongside Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon, also affirmed an agreement with the Norwegian Energy Department. This includes the construction of a pipeline designed for CO2 transportation from Belgium to Norway.
Norway already has provisions to store harmful CO2 emissions in empty gas fields off its coast.
Belgium’s gas network manager, Fluxys and Norwegian firm, Equinor, are already laying groundwork for the project. This preliminary agreement is expected to mature into a bilateral settlement.
