Belgian grid operator Elia is constructing an artificial energy island the size of eight football fields in the North Sea off the coast of Belgium.
The Princess Elisabeth Energy Island is located 45 kilometres off the Belgian shoreline. Nobody will live on the island, which is built to collect electricity generated by future Belgian offshore wind farms and transfer it to the mainland through underwater cables.
Construction of the project is being carried out by TM Edison, a joint consortium formed by Belgian engineering companies DEME and Jan De Nul, according to information published by The Times of India. The island is being assembled from 23 giant concrete caissons, with each caisson weighing approximately 22,000 tonnes.
Each concrete block measures roughly 58 metres long, 28 metres wide, and between 23 and 32 metres high, depending on the storm wall configuration. The units were built at a five-station production line inside the Port of Vlissingen in the Netherlands, with a full production cycle for a single block taking about 85 days.
Caissons are watertight concrete retention structures widely used in marine civil engineering to establish heavy offshore foundations. Vlissingen is a key deepwater port located in the southwestern province of Zeeland in the Netherlands, routinely used for heavy industrial logistics and offshore assembly.
Caisson installation and sea foundation
The final caisson was completed and launched into the water in January 2026. The concrete blocks are now delivered to the Scaldia terminal for finishing touches before their final positioning at sea.
Ocean deployment involves a precise multi-stage process rather than simply dropping the blocks into position. Dredgers and specialized vessels first prepare a rock foundation on the seabed, after which tugboats tow each caisson to the location in a partially submerged state.
After being placed over the target spot on the sea floor, the blocks are filled with sand so they sink and settle securely onto the rock base. The complete installation sequence for one block, starting from port departure to final placement and securing, requires about 24 hours.
Offshore placement operations began with an initial campaign in April 2025 using two caissons. That phase concluded in October, and placement will resume in spring 2026 if weather conditions permit. Overall installation will span two years, taking scheduled breaks during the winter storm season.
European energy grid connectivity
The project holds vital importance for the broader European energy grid, acting as an offshore power distribution hub. The facility will combine high-voltage alternating current and high-voltage direct current infrastructure to manage power flow to the main grid.
High-voltage direct current systems are widely used in long-distance subsea transmission because they reduce electrical losses compared to standard alternating current lines over long distances.
Subsea cables will link the island to future wind power installations in the Princess Elisabeth zone, a 285-square-kilometre offshore area designated to produce up to 3.5 gigawatts of wind energy. High-capacity cables will then carry that electricity directly to the mainland.
Grid operator Elia manages the high-voltage transmission network across Belgium, while construction partners DEME and Jan De Nul are global leaders in marine dredging, offshore energy infrastructure, and coastal land reclamation.
Floating ghost island in Canada
In a separate report noted by the publication, a massive floating ghost island covering 12,000 square metres has appeared on Williston Lake in Canada. The tree-covered landmass, measuring nearly 150 metres long and 75 metres wide, regularly disappears and reappears on the water surface.
The sudden emergence of the unmapped island stunned local residents and maritime experts after failing to appear on any official maps or navigation charts. Satellite images confirmed that the wooded island exists, floating in the main basin of the reservoir approximately 60 miles west of the dam.
Williston Lake is the largest artificial reservoir in British Columbia, Canada, created by the construction of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam on the Peace River. In large flooded reservoirs, buoyant mats of peat and root systems can sometimes detach from shoreline margins and float as temporary islands.
