Bornholm Energy Island

Bornholm Energy Island is a pioneering project within the green transition and an important initiative in the fight against the climate crisis.

The Danish Parliament has decided that from 2030 Bornholm will be the collection point for 3 GW of green power from offshore wind turbines, which will be placed in the Baltic Sea approx. 15 kilometers from Bornholm coast. On the island, the current is transformed into direct current, which can be transported over long distances in sea and land cables – initially to Zealand and Germany.

The onshore substation will be located approximately one kilometer south of Nylars, Lodbæk and Aakirkeby and can supply green energy, corresponding to the electricity consumption of 3.3 million Danish households. This will more than double Denmark’s current installed offshore wind power capacity.

The tender for the offshore wind farms is undertaken by The Danish Energy Agency, while Energinet is responsible for the tendering process and establishment of onshore facilities and transmission cables.

Bornholm Energy Island will be one of the largest construction projects in the history of Denmark, and marks a new era for production of offshore wind power on an unprecedented scale.

Political vision and background for Bornholm Energy Island

Green power is a crucial part of the solution to the climate crisis and a prerequisite for achieving the political goal of reducing Denmark's greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent compared to the level in 1990.

The decision to establish what later was called Bornholm Energy Island originates from the climate agreement of 22 June 2020, which was reached by the Danish Government, the Liberal Party of Denmark, Danish People’s Party, Social Liberal Party, Socialist People’s Party, the Red-Green Alliance, the Conservative People’s Party, Liberal Alliance and the Alternative.

Ahead of the Baltic Sea Energy Security Summit in August 2022, the government also agreed to expand the capacity of Bornholm Energy Island from 2 to 3 GW together with the Liberal Party of Denmark, the Socialist People's Party, the Social Liberal Party, the Red-Green Alliance, the Conservative People's Party, the Danish People's Party, Liberal Alliance and the Alternative. In comparison, a total of 2.3 GW of offshore wind is connected to Denmark today, which means that Bornholm Energy Island more than doubles the amount of offshore wind in Denmark.

At the Baltic Sea Energy Security Summit, Denmark and Germany also entered into an agreement to establish an underwater cable between the two countries. This enables the offshore wind power to be sent directly from the energy island to the German electricity grid and on to the rest of Europe. The political agreement with Germany is a major step towards stronger energy cooperation in the Baltic Sea.

The energy island in the Baltic Sea

In the Baltic Sea, the electrotechnical equipment will be placed on the island of Bornholm, where electricity from offshore wind farms will be routed to electricity grids on Zealand and in Germany. The offshore wind farms will be established approximately 15 km south-southwest of the coast of Bornholm.

Bornholm Energy Island will have a capacity of 3 GW, corresponding to the electricity consumption of up to 4.5 million Danish and German households. Bornholm Energy Island will be one of the largest construction projects in the history of Denmark, and marks a new era for production of green energy on an unprecedented scale.

Bornholm Energy Island will pave the way for the establishment of future energy islands, initially in the North Sea. Just like the North Sea Energy Island, the ambition is that power from the offshore wind farms can be converted into other forms of energy, for example Power-to-X. However, the establishment of Power-to-X must be done on the private initiative of the concession winner of the offshore wind tender for Energiø Bornholm.

Location of offshore wind turbines south-southwest of Bornholm (©Danish Energy Agency).

Read and view more about the location of the wind turbines off the coast of Bornholm (in Danish).

Important cooperation partners

The Danish Energy Agency, which has the overall responsible authority that owns the energy island project and is responsible for the supply of offshore wind. The project is being carried out with a number of important partners, including Energinet and Bornholm's Regional Municipality.

Energinet is responsible for the electrical installations and cables, which will tie power from the offshore wind turbines together with the Danish power grid and send power to Germany. Read more about Energinet's work in relation to the energy islands.

Energinet is responsible for establishing the electrical installations and cables, which will connect the energy from the offshore wind turbines to the Danish power grid and send electricity to Germany. Read more about Energinet's work with the energy islands.

Bornholm's Regional Municipality and the Danish Energy Agency work closely together on tasks regarding public hearings and citizen involvement, as well as communication of the Bornholm Energy Island project in general.

Read more about Bornholm's Regional Municipality's work with the Bornholm Energy Island project.

Find answers to frequently asked questions related to Bornholm Energy Island.

Next step in the project

The work surrounding the energy islands is comprehensive and complex, and there are many processes to complete and decisions to make in parallel. There are therefore many steps that still need to be taken in the project. Below you can get an overview of the most central steps:

The Danish system operator of the transmission network, Energinet, has been instructed to commence preliminary studies on the seabed around Bornholm and the area in the North Sea where it has been decided the island and offshore wind farms will be located. These preliminary studies are intended to ensure that both the offshore wind farms and the artificial island are placed in areas that are suited for construction and where they will have the least possible impact on the environment. Read the press release (in Danish).
The Danish Energy Agency is preparing the tender for the Bornholm Energy Island Offshore Wind Farm. Read more about the tender.
Energinet is preparing the tender for establishing the onshore substation and cable routes from two islands to the mainland.
Efforts are underway to sign binding agreements with Denmark’s neighbours to ensure that we can export the green electricity to other European electricity grids than our own.
Energinet has pinpointed an area south-west of Aakirkeby suitable for establishing the high-voltage station to which the offshore wind turbines and the electricity cables to Zealand and Germany can be connected. At the moment, preliminary studies of the nature and geology of the area are being carried out. The investigations will have influence on the final location of the onshore substation and be decisive of where cables will be brought ashore.
A decision must be made as to whether the island should have its own price zone.

Background reports, legal orders and permits

The Danish Energy Agency has enlisted a number of consultants to contribute reports that in various ways relate to the placement of the energy islands and their surrounding offshore wind farms.

The reports have been prepared to identify possible placements ahead of the final decisions on placements. The location for offshore wind parks by Bornholm and the artificial island and offshore wind parks in the North Sea were agreed in a political decision in November 2020 (in Danish).

You will find the reports below. They include a fine screening of the optimum sites for the energy islands and associated offshore wind farms in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, a geological expert assessment for the location of the energy island in a relatively shallow area in the North Sea, as well as visualizations of offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea. Please note that the documentation is mostly written in Danish:

As part of the political decision to establish the energy islands, Energinet, has been instructed to commence preliminary studies of selected areas on Bornholm and in the Baltic Sea. At the same time, the areas are reserved for the establishment of energy islands and government development of offshore wind. The preliminary studies are the first step towards the realization of the energy islands and include geophysical (for example sonar studies, where you screen the seabed) and geotechnical studies (for example drilling into the seabed) as well as environmental studies (for example the impact on the area's wildlife) and metocean investigations.