The United Kingdom’s Minister for Energy Greg Hands and Belgium’s Minister for Energy Tinne Van der Straeten signed an agreement on energy cooperation yesterday (23 February).

This memorandum of understanding deepens the UK and Belgium’s bilateral relationship and enables closer working on important energy priorities including:

• multipurpose electricity interconnection
• offshore wind
• low carbon hydrogen
• carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS)

UK Minister for Energy, Greg Hands said:

I’m pleased to be able to agree today even greater cooperation with our neighbours in Belgium on electricity interconnection.

We already have a longstanding energy relationship and this agreement will strengthen our joint energy security and reduce our exposure to global energy prices.

Belgian Minister of Energy, Tinne Van der Straeten said:

Belgium and the United Kingdom have signed a new cooperation agreement to build a second interconnection. The existing electrical interconnector, Nemo-Link, is one of the best performing interconnections in the world. The new link, which would be connected to the energy island, is a hybrid interconnection. This dual function means that power can be exchanged directly between the 2 countries and new wind farms can also be connected to it.

Leading is most profitable. This is proven by Belgium’s offshore power production, which is breaking all records this month and is having a downward effect on prices. The new interconnection fits in with the plan to turn the North Sea into one large sustainable energy plant.