Offshore wind developer Ørsted and ATP, Denmark’s largest institutional investor, have signed an agreement with GlobalConnect to make the North Sea energy island they are planning a backbone for digitization in northern Europe
Ørsted and ATP said they want the North Sea energy island ‘to be more than just an island.’ It will draw upon a modular design to become a future-proof piece of Danish infrastructure at the centre of the world’s largest offshore network of green energy.
Now, Ørsted and ATP are taking another step, making the North Sea energy island into a centre for a cross-border digital hub. They said that doing so “is expected to be a major opportunity to deliver on the future digitization agenda of Northern Europe and a key enabler to attract large-scale investment in digital infrastructure, including data centres.”
GlobalConnect has the most extensive high-capacity network and experience in Northern Europe with more than 100,000 km of fibre across the region. Data consumption is expected to rise significantly in the coming years, as more devices connect to the internet. This will require a capacity expansion of the grid transporting data between the North Sea countries. Ørsted and ATP believe a ‘smart’ North Sea energy island “offers a natural intersection for this grid, while also being a reliable source of renewable energy to power the digitization.”
“By making the North Sea island a digital hub, Denmark will be centrally placed to attract investment in two of the most significant long-term growth industries globally, renewable energy and digital infrastructure,” the project partners said.
They highlighted the fact that in recent years several Nordic and European countries have built high-capacity, secure digital infrastructure. “With today’s agreement, Ørsted, ATP and GlobalConnect are paving the way to attract large operators,” they said.
“Proximity to large-scale emission-free energy from offshore wind and GlobalConnect’s secure and resilient digital backbone could attract significant investment to the North Sea energy island and, consequently, to Denmark.
“In addition, the smart energy island will become a central part in the next phase of regional offshore wind build-out, enabling autonomous operations and further digitizing operations.”
Ørsted head of Europe Rasmus Errboe said, “The North Sea Energy Island offers Denmark a unique opportunity to become a hub for the technologies of tomorrow, attracting significant investment.”
ATP senior vice president Claus Wiinblad said, “When embarking on such a significant long-term investment as the North Sea energy island, it’s crucial that the dynamics of the concept and construction meet the demands of the future sustainable and digital society.
“We want to create a versatile and flexible energy island that will support the green transition, both now and in the years to come, as well as being a sensible risk-adjusted investment of the Danish pensions. In GlobalConnect we have a resilient partner in digital infrastructure to secure connectivity and growth.”
GlobalConnect chief executive Martin Lippert said, “The North Sea Energy Island will play a significant part in future-proofing the region while strengthening the Nordic’s position as an attractive hub for transporting data across the world.
“As a provider of cross-border critical digital infrastructure, we are very excited to share Ørsted’s and ATP’s vision to build a smart energy island with a resilient and secure network that paves the way for the digital future of offshore wind while providing a unique attraction to global tech giants.”
