Wind power
Find out more about our wind farms!
We build our wind turbines in partnership within the companies Wind4Flanders* , Wind4Wallonia** and Greensky*** with a clear focus on those living in the surrounding areas. They are partial shareholders via CoGreen.
We are also active in offshore wind energy.
ENGIE contributed to the development and realization of the SeaMade wind farm in the North Sea as part of the Ocean Winds project team. Its subsidiary Electrabel was already involved at the start of the project and is now also taking on the operation of the park.
With Ocean Winds, ENGIE Electrabel wants to continue to play a pioneering role in Belgium's energy transition, in which offshore wind energy has a very important place. Our ambition is to have 1,000 megawatts of offshore wind power by 2030, including in consortia such as this one.
ENGIE also installs wind turbines for its customers so that they can increase the sustainability of their processes via the local production of green energy.
To realise our targets, we aim to:
- expand our facilities by 40 MW per year.
- optimise the fleet: we are gradually replacing our small, older turbines with more efficient examples, as we did at Hoogstraten and Wondelgem in 2021.
Interesting facts
- It takes around 3-4 years from the consultation phase to the commissioning of a wind farm.
- A well-placed turbine on land with a capacity of 3 MW can produce around 7,000 MWh of electricity in a year. This equates to the annual consumption of almost 2,000 families.
- The average lifespan of a wind turbine is 20 years.
Turning wind energy into electricity
In order to produce electricity with a wind turbine, the wind has to blow (the turbine only starts to turn with a wind speed of 3 m/s and works at maximum capacity with a speed of 12 m/s). But it can’t be too windy! When the wind gets to 25 m/s or above, the wind turbines shut down for safety reasons. The energy production from wind turbines constantly fluctuates. ENGIE uses special software which analyses meteorological data in order to predict production by the turbines as accurately as possible. On the basis of this information, we can engage other energy sources or power stations, if required.
How does it work?
Wind turbine on land (onshore):
• Currently offering a capacity of 3.5 to 5.6 MW
• Supplies its full capacity over an equivalent of 2,000 to 2,200 hours (approx. 25% of the time)
Wind turbine at sea (offshore):
- Because there’s more room at sea, larger and more powerful wind turbines can be built. The offshore industry is moving towards wind turbines of up to 12 MW, fitted with rotors with a wing-span of up to 200 m.
- At sea, the wind blows harder and more regularly. Wind turbines offer an average of 4,000 hours at full capacity.
• The nacelle turns the rotor and the sails automatically into the wind direction.
• A sail on an onshore wind turbine can be up to 75 m long. The sails on offshore wind turbines can measure up to 100 m.
• The nacelle can be reached via the hollow mast. At the foot of the mast, there is the transformer which increases the voltage of the generated power.
• Once the wind starts to move the sails, the gearbox converts the rotor’s low revolution speed into the high revolution speed of the generator.
• The generator converts this kinetic energy into electricity.
Did you know? At a distance of 500 metres, the noise from a wind turbine doesn’t exceed that of a library.
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*Wind4Flanders is a collaboration between Zefier, IKA and Ventum&green.
**Wind4Wallonia is a collaboration between Electrabel and 5 interurban organisations (InBW, IDEFIN, IEG, SOFILUX and CENEO which combines IDEA, IDETA and IGRETEC).
*** Greensky cvba is a partnership between Electrabel, Infrabel, Sint-Truiden and Ventum&green.
Updates
Berlare E17 - Opname online informatievergadering (webinar)
Via onderstaande link, kan u het webinar dat donderdagavond 16/05/24 plaatsgevonden heeft, herbekijken.
Onderstaand kan u de vragen die gesteld werden tijdens en na de informatievergadering terugvinden, alsook de antwoorden.
Berlare E17 - Informatievergadering – webinar
In het kader van de MER-procedure wordt tijdens het openbaar onderzoek op donderdagavond 16 mei 2024 om 19u een online informatiemoment (webinar) georganiseerd. Tijdens dit webinar zal toelichting gegeven worden over het project en de MER-procedure. Het webinar is online te volgen via onderstaande link.
Berlare E17 - Openbaar onderzoek gaat van start op 13 mei 2024
De omgevingsvergunningsaanvraag is volledig en ontvankelijk verklaard. Het openbaar onderzoek voor dit windturbineproject gaat van start op 13 mei 2024 en loopt tot 11 juni 2024. Tijdens deze periode, die 30 dagen duurt, hebben omwonenden de kans om zich uit te spreken over dit project. Het hele dossier is raadpleegbaar via het Omgevingsloket of op het gemeentehuis van Berlare.
Laarne E17 Zuid - Vergunning toegekend voor één van de vier windturbines
De minister heeft een vergunning toegekend voor WT1.