Belgium has plans for energy island

Belgium wants to build an artificial island in the North Sea, about three kilometres from the coast, in order to store energy. The island would also provide a resting place for seagulls and other marine wildlife. The idea comes from Johan Vande Lanotte, Belgian Minister for Economy, Consumer Affairs and the North Sea. "It will be a large sand bank with a lake at the middle, but barely visible from the mainland" he says. The concept is fairly simple: if the offshore windmill park produces an overabundance of energy at night, that energy will be used to pump seawater into the lake at the middle of the island. If there's not too much demand for electricity in the morning, then the water in the lake would empty back into the sea. This kind of hydroelectric energy can deliver a lot of electricity.
"It would solve a big problem," says energy specialist André Jurres. "As it is now, too much electricity from the offshore windmill park gets lost, especially at night when the turbines are rotating but there is little demand for electricity."