PRINCESS ELISABETH ZONE LOT 1 OFFSHORE WIND FARM

The loan will finance the construction and operation of an offshore wind farm with a capacity of approximately 700 MW, located off the Belgian coast. It will be built in the first of the three plots making up the Princess Elisabeth Zone (PEZ), totalling 3.5 GW over the three plots. The project includes the inter-array underground cables and connection to the Modular offshore Grid 2 island (MOG2 or Princess Elisabeth Island), located 45 km off the Belgian coast, which will act as an electricity hub connecting the whole PEZ to the onshore electrical transmission grid. The Princess Elisabeth Island and related transmission infrastructure to connect it to the on-shore grid are not part of the project scope.

The operation supports EU renewable energy objectives and supports Belgium in meeting its commitments with respect to greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, as set out in its National Energy and Climate Plan. Achieving the targets requires substantial additional private and public capital compared to business-as-usual trends. The financing of this project is in line with the EIB's priority energy lending related to renewable energy and climate action. The project is expected to contribute to climate action and environmental sustainability (CA&ES) objectives, in particular to climate mitigation. It helps addressing negative environmental externalities; a market failure, by limiting the emissions of carbon and other air pollutants.

Wind farms fall under Annex II of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 2011/92/EU as amended by the Directive 2014/52/EU, thereby leaving it to the competent authority to determine if an EIA is required. The project was subject to an EIA process and the competent authority issued an environmental consent on the 21 November 2024 (Ministerial decree granting the Federal Public Service Economy, SMEs, Self-Employed and Energy, Directorate-General Energy an authorisation for construction, an operating permit and a Natura-2000 permit for an offshore wind farm and the cables in lot 1 of the Princess Elisabeth zone in the marine areas under Belgian jurisdiction). The closest Natura 2000 site is the SAC Vlaamse Banken (BEMNZ0001), at c. 8 kms from the wind farm and c. 1 km from the Princess Elisabeth Island where the inter-arrays cables of the wind farm will connect to the transformer station. The export cables from the Princess Elisabeth Island to the shore cross SPA 2 (BEMNZ0002) and SPA 3 (BEMNZ0004). The Princess Elisabeth Island, including its electrical infrastructure, and the export cables to the shore are not part of the scope of financing of this project, nor is the onshore infrastructure which is part of a wider national grid reinforcement project (Ventilus, with spatial planning permit granted in 2024). The Princess Elisabeth Zone and Princess Elisabeth Island are considered in the Belgian Marine Spatial Plan (MSP) of 2020-2026 which was approved in 2019. Based on a risk-based approach as defined in the EIBG E&S Policy, the requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive 2011/92/EU as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU, Birds Directive 2009/147/EC, Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC, and where and if applicable Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC, and Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC as amended by Directive 2017/845/EU will be checked during appraisal.

The concession will be awarded to a private promoter/concessionaire through a due public procurement process. Compliance with relevant Directive 2014/23/EU will be evaluated during appraisal. After award, the EIB will assess whether the selected private promoter/concessionaire is subject to EU public procurement legislation. If applicable, the Bank will require the private promoter/concessionaire to ensure that contracts for the implementation of the project will be tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation Directive 2014/25/EU, as well as Directive 92/13/EEC or Directive 89/665/EEC as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with publication of tender notices in the EU Official Journal, as and where required.