Commission clears 2.04 billion euro Belgian offshore wind scheme

The European Commission has approved a 2.04 billion euro Belgian scheme to support the first offshore wind farm in the Princess Elisabeth zone, a project of up to 735 megawatts expected to generate up to 2.6 terawatt hours a year.

Why it matters: The approval revives a support scheme whose 2024 predecessor lapsed unspent at the end of 2025, and it sets the terms, including supply chain diversification requirements, for a tender whose result is expected in late 2027.

Data as of European Commission press release IP/26/2373 of November 9, 2026, read in full via the estate browser route after the Commission press page returned no text on the direct fetch; every figure and the scheme design are the Commission's own. Developing item.

The European Commission has approved a Belgian state aid scheme of up to 2.04 billion euros over 20 years to support the construction and operation of the first offshore wind farm in the Princess Elisabeth zone in the North Sea. The farm is expected to have a capacity of up to 735 megawatts and to generate up to 2.6 terawatt hours of renewable electricity a year.

The aid will be awarded through a competitive bidding process, with the result expected in the fourth quarter of 2027, and paid as a monthly variable premium under a two way contract for difference, calculated against the farm’s monthly capability rather than its actual output. The scheme replaces a 2024 measure whose aid was never granted because the legal deadline of December 31, 2025 passed, and tender prequalification will require bidders to diversify their turbine and component supply chains away from dependence on imports from outside Europe.

Commission clears 2.04 billion euro Belgian offshore wind scheme

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