Elia Transmission Belgium (ETB) has announced a temporary postponement of the final contract signing for the Princess Elisabeth Island project, citing significant price increases in high-voltage direct current (HVDC) infrastructure. The company stated that the delay, while carrying some consequences, provides additional time to reassess the current design against alternative solutions amidst a shifting market environment.
While the postponement may impact the project's timeline, Elia emphasized that it is exploring viable alternatives, though these require a collaborative action plan involving all stakeholders. The company acknowledged the uncertainty in both policy and regulation as key factors influencing this decision.
“Since Elia, as a grid operator, implements decided policies, it seems inappropriate to us, in the current exceptional market conditions, to make a unilateral decision without further political support,” the company said. Elia is working on various potential options to ensure the project remains on track, while carefully considering the complex analysis and discussions required with all parties involved.
Despite the delay in finalizing the HVDC contracts, Elia confirmed that the construction of the artificial island foundations and the implementation of already-signed alternating current (HVAC) contracts remain on schedule. These actions will facilitate the completion of two out of three planned offshore wind farms in the Princess Elisabeth zone, which represents 60% of the future development.
Elia is currently negotiating for two HVDC converters to connect the third wind farm and support the development of a hybrid interconnector to the UK, known as the Nautilus project. The company reported that the international tender for the HVDC components has faced an overheated supply chain, leading to significant price hikes due to material shortages, inflation, and scarcity of components.
“The terms from the supplier involved are comparable to those of other European grid operators, but despite our efforts, they remain much higher than our initial estimates,” Elia explained.
The company has set a deadline for awarding the HVDC contract by mid-February 2025. However, it stated that without political support and clarity, the decision cannot be made unilaterally. Should the original concept be maintained, the construction of the HVDC converters will be postponed, with an updated timeline to be agreed upon with the equipment manufacturers.
Elia added that the project's overall lead time is now estimated at around three years, and the government will need to confirm or revise the reference concept to proceed with the next steps.