Elia is building a new headquarters for offshore activities in the port of Ostend

Elia is one of the largest energy transmission companies in Europe. With Ventilus, the construction of the new wind farm, and the energy island on the North Sea, it faces major challenges. Especially for their offshore projects there is a need for a new location in Ostend.

The concession agreement, immediately for two periods of 40 years, has just been signed. Elia will soon be erecting a large new building on the Boeienplein in Ostend. Right in the energy port, in the middle of all the other energy companies that have recently settled there. Chris Peeters, Elia Group CEO: “We already have activities in Ostend for the maintenance of the socket at sea, but we are going to expand this enormously. We are building an island in the North Sea and that requires a lot of technicians. We will set them up in Ostend in the new offices Ostend is of course becoming a very important hub.”

Haven is delighted

The Ostend offices form the offshore headquarters for Elia, which will, among other things, build an energy island 20 kilometers out to sea, together with Deme and Jan De Nul. Elia will be the crucial player in the realization of the European offshore electricity network. The port of Ostend is delighted. Bart Tommelein, mayor and chairman of Renewable Energybase Ostend: “It is of course their activities that come here and that emphasizes that blue energy is extremely important. That is why the high-voltage network operator Elia has decided to come to Ostend and send a large number of its people to Coordinating its wind farm activities from here is very important.”

There will also be a visitor center for the general public in the building. It should be ready by the end of 2025. “The site has a purely administrative and operational function. No high-voltage installations or high-voltage pylons are planned,” says Chris Peeters.