FAQ

Offshore wind turbines generate electricity with extremely low carbon emissions and play a crucial role in helping us meet our climate objectives. They produce a mere 10 g to 15 g of CO2 per kWh across their entire lifespan, and they supply clean energy without any combustion gases for 20 to 30 years. While out at sea, they boost marine biodiversity. At the end of their life cycle, wind turbines are recycled. In other words, offshore wind turbines are extremely sustainable.

Recycling the rotor blades in wind turbines is not exactly a straightforward process, as they are made of composite materials. For that reason, the European wind power sector is increasingly pursuing scenarios for reuse, innovative recycling methods and new applications for decommissioned blades, to ensure even greater circularity in the offshore wind sector. Ever since 1 January 2026, the wind sector has pledged to stop sending any wind turbine blades to landfill in Europe.

Yes. These days, most parts in offshore wind turbines and their foundations can be recycled: 90% of the components that wind turbines are made of are recyclable. This includes steel, copper, electrical components and foundations. That way, valuable raw materials get to stay in the circular economy as much as possible.

On average, offshore wind turbines have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years. With maintenance and technological innovations, they are often able to generate electricity well beyond that.

During the construction of offshore wind farms, underwater noises and vibrations can cause a temporary nuisance to marine mammals. To limit that impact, sound-reducing technologies such as bubble curtains and the PULSE system are used. These innovative sound barriers reduce stress, disorientation and potential hearing damage in marine animals.

Offshore wind farms often have a positive impact on marine biodiversity — including in the North Sea. No sailing, fishing, surfing or swimming is allowed in our Belgian offshore wind farms. As such, these farms serve as protected areas in which the marine ecosystem can flourish and greater biodiversity can develop beneath the waves.

Our Belgian offshore wind turbines emit 2 g to 2.5 g of CO2 per kWh during their operational service life. That’s 150 times less than the emissions generated by fossil fuels.

Before and after the point at which a wind turbine is active at sea, the necessary materials need to be manufactured, transported, installed and dismantled. When we factor in the carbon emissions involved in those processes, an offshore wind farm generates around 10 g to 15 g of CO2 per kWh across its entire life cycle. That’s still 50 times less than a modern gas-fired power station.

Nearly 16 000 jobs will be created between 2010 and 2030 through the development, construction, maintenance and dismantling of wind farms and their electrical infrastructure. More information on the macroeconomic impact of the offshore wind industry can be found here.

Our offshore wind turbines in the Belgian North Sea generate electricity using offshore wind power. This presents Belgium with six major advantages:

1. Greater security: a more stable supply of energy thanks to electricity that’s generated locally.
2. Greater prosperity: new jobs, economic growth and a strong offshore wind sector.
3. Greater cost efficiency: less dependence on spiking fuel and CO₂ prices.
4. Greater competitiveness: expertise we can export and a solid supply chain.
5. More green energy: a crucial factor in helping us achieve our climate objectives and electrification.
6. Greater circularity: ever better solutions for reuse and recycling.

Offshore wind power plays a key role in Belgium, as it helps solve a range of challenges. It reduces our carbon emissions, which in turn enables us to achieve our climate objectives, and it protects us from sky-high, fluctuating fossil fuel prices.

What’s more, Belgium boasts an ideal North Sea location with strong and steady winds, providing an efficient way to produce energy. And with land space coming at a premium, offshore wind power offers a particularly attractive alternative to large-scale renewable energy projects.

Finally, Belgium can rely on a mature offshore wind sector with proven expertise and a strong supply chain. All of this offers real value to investors and serves a crucial pillar for our energy security and economic resilience.

The Belgian offshore wind farms produce electricity more than 90% of the time: the wind turbines produce from a light breeze (2 Beaufort) to a heavy storm (11 Beaufort). More than 40% of wind turbines can continue to produce during heavy storms.

As the wind blows harder at sea, an offshore wind turbine is designed to produce electricity at very high speeds (up to 110 km/h). If higher wind speeds are detected, the turbine automatically switches to safety mode.

In concrete terms, this means that the turbine switches to the ‘feathered position’: the blades position themselves differently depending on the wind, which reduces the impact on the turbine and the foundations. The ‘feathered position’ can also be activated at lower wind speeds. The blades are therefore not clamped in a fixed position, but continue to rotate freely in a protective position. Above the maximum speed (cut-off speed), no electricity is supplied to the grid to protect the rotor.

As soon as the wind speeds decrease again, the wind turbines start up again automatically.

Since end 2020, 8 offshore wind farms with a 2.3 GW capacity can together produce approximately 8 TWh of green electricity annually, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 2.2 million homes, i.e. almost half of all Belgian homes.

With the new Marine Spatial Plan (2020-2026), offshore wind energy capacity can double to 4.5 GW in the coming years, so that offshore wind energy can meet one fifth of the electricity demand. The sector is doing everything in its power to realize this as soon as possible.

Offshore wind turbines produce electricity more than 90% of the time: they turn from a light breeze (2 Beaufort) to a violent storm (11 Beaufort). There is always wind at sea and the latest wind turbines can also continue to produce during severe storms.

Of course! You can find all the information you need here: Take a closer look at the wind turbines in the Belgian North Sea.

No! Transiting, diving, kite surfing and fishing are not allowed in the wind farms in the Belgian North Sea for safety reasons.

Why not? Because the wind-farm area is actually one huge power station. You surely wouldn’t go mountain biking in a power station? Sailing in the wind farms poses a hazard to you and your boat. There is always a risk of a collision! If you ran into difficulties and had to make an emergency stop, for example, your anchor could damage the 220,000 volt high-voltage cables lying on the seabed between the wind turbines, which would mean shutting down the electricity production. This could easily cost you several million Euros in damages!

For more information, see our leaflet “Wind turbine zone in Belgian North Sea: access prohibited“.