Decommissioning Offshore Windfarms and Grid Infrastructure: To Remove or Not to Remove? - A Belgian Law Perspective

AbstractThis article explores the applicable international and regional rules and standards for the decommissioning and removal of offshore installations. In addition, the Belgian legal approach to the decommissioning of offshore wind installations and grid infrastructure is examined. Although Belgian legislation supports the complete removal of installations, an ecosystem restoration approach to the development of offshore wind farms might suggest options other than complete removal. This article demonstrates that lifetime extension, refurbishment, and repowering of installations are not problematic from an international law perspective. This research shows, however, that decommissioning offshore wind farms and grid infrastructure is ambiguously regulated in Belgium, and, in the longer term, the development of a dedicated regulatory approach is recommended.Keywords: Decommissioninggrid infrastructureoffshore(partial) removalwindfarms AcknowledgmentThis work was supported by the Energy Transition Fund (PhairywinD-project; FPS Economy).Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, adopted 10 December 1982, entered into force 16 November 1994, 1833 UNTS 397 (hereafter: UNCLOS).2 Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, adopted 22 September 1992, entered into force 25 March 1998 (hereafter OSPAR).3 Belgian Offshore Platform (BOP), "First Offshore Wind Energy Zone in the Belgian North Sea Fully and on Time Completed," 3 January 2021 at: https://www.belgianoffshoreplatform.be/en/news/first-offshore-wind-energy-zone-in-the-belgian-north-sea-fully-and-on-time-completed (accessed 3 January 2023).4 Ibid; Frank Maes, "Het nieuw Belgisch marien ruimtelijk plan voor de periode 2020–2026" (2020) 4 Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht (TMR) 416, 417–418.5 Tobe Steel, "Regering mikt op verdrievoudiging windenergie op zee" 15 October 2021, De Tijd at: https://www.tijd.be/ondernemen/milieu-energie/regering-mikt-op-verdrievoudiging-windenergie-op-zee/10339099.html (accessed 3 January 2023).6 Tosin Adedipe and Mahmood Shafiee, "An Economic Assessment Framework for Decommissioning" (2021) 26 International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 344, 348–349.7 Eva Topham, Elena Gonzalez, David McMillan et al., "Challenges of Decommissioning Offshore Wind Farms: Overview of the European Experience" (2019) 1222 Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1, 6–7.8 X., "First Offshore Wind Farm Decommissioning Complete" 4 February 2016 The Maritime Executive at: https://maritime-executive.com/article/first-offshore-wind-farm-decommissioning-complete (accessed 3 January 2023); X., "Swedish Offshore Wind Farm Is No More" 4 October 2018, offshoreWIND at: https://www.offshorewind.biz/2018/10/04/swedish-offshore-wind-farm-is-no-more/ (accessed 3 January 2023); X., "Lely Wind Farm Fully Decommissioned" 7 December 2016, offshoreWIND at: https://www.offshorewind.biz/2016/12/07/lely-wind-farm-fully-decommissioned-video/ (accessed 3 January 2023); X., "World's First Offshore Wind Farm Being Decommissioned" 19 March 2017, The Maritime Executive at: https://maritime-executive.com/article/worlds-first-offshore-wind-farm-being-decommissioned (accessed 3 January 2023); Jason Deign, "UK's Blyth Retirement Offers an Early View of Offshore Wind Decommissioning" 25 March 2019, Greentechmedia at: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/blyth-offshore-wind-decommissioning (accessed 3 January 2023); Topham, Gonzalez, McMillan et al., note 7, 2–4.9 The domain concessions for the future wind farms will be subject to a longer term, namely, 40 years (see the discussion that follows); Cedric Degreef and Wouter Geldhof, "Offshore Energy and the Belgian Legal Framework: All at Sea?" (2015) 1 Tijdschrift voor het recht van netwerkindustrieën (TRNI) 56, 61; Royal Decree of 20 December 2000 on the terms and conditions and the procedure for constructing and operating energy production installations using wind, water, or waves in the sea areas over which Belgium has jurisdiction, Belgian Official Gazette 30 December 2000, Art 13.10 Samir Mankabady, "Decommissioning of Offshore Installations" (1997) 28 Journal of Maritime Law & Commerce 603, 603–613; John Woodliffe, "Decommissioning of Offshore Oil and Gas Installations in European Waters: The End of a Decade of indecision?" (1999) 14 International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 101, 101–123; Dinand Drankier and Martha M. Roggenkamp, "The Regulation of Decommissioning in the Netherlands: From Removal to Re-Use" in Martha M. Roggenkamp and Catherine Banet (eds), European Energy Law Report XIII (Intersentia, 2020), 289; Greg Gordon and John Paterson, "Decommissioning of Offshore Installations upon the UK Continental Shelf" in Martha M. Roggenkamp and Catherine Banet (eds), ibid, 307; Dag Erlend Henriksen, "Decommissioning Practice in Norway," in Martha M. Roggenkamp and Catherine Banet (eds), ibid, 351; Clara Greve Brett, "Regulation of Infrastructure Decommissioning in the Danish Offshore Oil and Gas Sector" in Martha M. Roggenkamp and Catherine Banet (eds), ibid, 329; B. A. Hamzah, "International Rules on Decommissioning of Offshore Installations: Some Observations" (2003) 27(4) Marine Policy 339, 339–348; Erika J. Techera and John Chandler, "Offshore Installations, Decommissioning and Artificial Reefs: Do Current Legal Frameworks Best Serve the Marine Environment?" (2015) 59 Marine Policy 53, 53–60; Foroogh Torabi and Seyed Mohammad Tababaye Nejad, "Legal Regime of Residual Liability in Decommissioning: The Importance of Role of States" (2021) 133 Marine Policy 1, 1–8; Colin Mackie and Anne P. M. Velenturf, "Trouble on the Horizon: Securing the Decommissioning of Offshore Renewable Energy Installations in UK Waters" (2021) 157 Energy Policy 1, 1–12; Edward Brown, "The Significance of a Possible EC EEZ for the Law Relating to Artificial Islands, Installations, and Structures, and to Cables and Pipelines, in the Exclusive Economic Zone" (1992) 23 Ocean Development and International Law 115, 115–144; Rosalyn Higgins, "Abandonment of Energy Sites and Structures: Relevant International Law" (1993) 11 (1) Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law 6, 6–16; Zhiguo Gao, "Current Issues of International Law on Offshore Abandonment, with Special Reference to the United Kingdom" (1997) 28 (1) Ocean Development & International Law 59, 59–78.11 Drankier and Roggenkamp, note 10, 289–290;Hamzah, note 10, 339-341; Raphael J. Heffron, "Energy Law for Decommissioning in the Energy Sector in the 21st Century" (2018) 11(3) Journal of World Energy Law & Business 189, 193.12 IMO Assembly Resolution A.672(16) of 19 October 1989, Guidelines and Standards for the Removal of Offshore Installations and Structures on the Continental Shelf and in the Exclusive Economic Zone.13 Ibid, [1.1]. See also Drankier and Roggenkamp, note 10, 293.14 IMO Assembly Resolution A.672(16), of 19 October 1989, Guidelines and Standards for the Removal of Offshore Installations and Structures on the Continental Shelf and in the Exclusive Economic Zone, [1.2].15 It must be noted that research regarding decommissioning in relation to renewables-to-reefs and its interplay with marine biodiversity is still in full development. The same goes for research with regard to the reuse of offshore installations. For more information: Katie Smyth, Nikki Christie, Daryl Burdon et al., "Renewables-to-Reefs?—Decommissioning Options for the Offshore Wind Power Industry" (2015) 90(1–2) Marine Pollution Bulletin 247, 248; Ashley M. Fowler, Peter I. Macreadie and David J. Booth, "Renewables-to-Reefs: Participatory Multicriteria Decision Analysis Is Required to Optimize Wind Farm Decommissioning" (2015) 98(1–2) Marine Pollution Bulletin 368, 368–369; Silvana N. R. Birchenough and Steven Degraer, "Science in Support of Ecologically Sound Decommissioning for Offshore Man-Made Structures: Taking Stock of Current Knowledge and Considering Future Challenges" (2020) 77(3) ICES Journal of Marine Science 1075, 1077; Irene S. Fortune and David M. Paterson, "Ecological Best Practice in Decommissioning: A Review of Scientific Research" (2020) 77(3) ICES Journal of Marine Science 1079, 1088–1089.16 Ceciel Nieuwenhout, Regulating Offshore Electricity Infrastructure in the North Sea (University of Groningen 2020), 12–13.17 Hannah Katharina Mûller, A Legal Framework for a Transnational Offshore Grid in the North Sea (Intersentia, 2016), 15.18 Nieuwenhout, note 16, 12–13.19 Source: https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/projects/elia-modular-offshore-grid-project-north-sea (accessed 3 January 2023); Müller, note 17, 16; Angelo Goethals, Jeroen Mentens, Pieter Mathys et al., "Energy (Including Cables and Pipes)" in Steven Dauwe, Thomas Verleye, Hans Pirlet et al. (eds), Knowledge Guide Coast and Sea 2022—Compendium for Coast and Sea (Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), 2022), 94; see https://doi.org/10.48470/25 (accessed 6 August 2023).20 From a legal point of view, it is debatable whether these "energy islands" can be qualified as (artificial) islands at all (see the discussion that follows).21 Marjan Temmerman, "België en Denemarken bouwen samen aan onderzeese energiekabel tegen 2030: maak kennis met Triton" 23 November 2021, VRT NIEUWS at: https://vrtnws.be/p.0YYD7oNAQ (accessed 3 January 2023), Müller, note 17, 17–18.22 Source: https://www.nationalgrid.com/national-grid-ventures/interconnectors-connecting-cleaner-future/nautilus-interconnector (accessed 3 January 2023).23 Source: https://www.tinnevanderstraeten.be/noordzeestroom_voor_elk_belgisch_gezin (accessed 3 January 2023).24 Source: https://www.elia.be/en/infrastructure-and-projects/infrastructure-projects/princess-elisabeth-island (accessed 22 March 2022).25 Birchenough and Degraer, note 15, 1075–1076.26 A. M. Jadali, A. Ioannou, K. Salonitis et al., "Decommissioning vs. Repowering of Offshore Wind Farms—A Techno-Economic Assessment" (2021) 112 International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 2519, 2521.27 Eva Topham, David McMillan, Stuart Bradley et al., "Recycling Offshore Wind Farms at Decommissioning Stage" (2019) 129 Energy Policy 698, 699.28 Lisa Ziegler, Elena Gonzalez, Tim Rubert et al., "Lifetime Extension of Onshore Wind Turbines: A Review Covering Germany, Spain, Denmark and the UK" (2018) 82 Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 1261, 1261; Topham, McMillan, Bradley et al., ibid, 699.29 Eva Topham and David McMillan, "Sustainable Decommissioning of an Offshore Wind Farm" (2017) 102 Energy Policy 470, 471; Topham, McMillan, Bradley et al., note 27, 699.30 Topham, McMillan, Bradley et al., note 27, 699.31 Laszlo Arany, S. Bhattacharya, John Macdonald et al., "Design of Monopiles for Offshore Wind Turbines in 10 Steps" (2017) 92 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 126, 126; Topham, McMillan, Bradley et al., note 27, 699.32 Topham, McMillan, Bradley et al., note 27, 699.33 UNCLOS, Art 60(3).34 IMO, Implications of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for the International Maritime Organization. Study by the Secretariat of the IMO, LEG/MISC.8, 30 January 2014, 7, 9.35 UNCLOS, Art 60 (3); Malcolm N. Shaw, International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2008), 580–584; Yoshifumi Tanaka, The International Law of the Sea (Cambridge University Press, 2019), 84–86.36 Nieuwenhout, note 16, 28; George K. Walker, Definitions for Law of the Sea (Brill Nijhoff, 2012), 104; Alex G. Oude Elferink, "Artificial Islands, Installations and Structures" Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law [MPEPIL] (2013), 1–2.37 X., "Final Report on Definition of Terms in the 1982 LOS Convention (2009–2010)" 2009 Proceedings of the American Branch of the International Law Association 162, 283–285.38 Nieuwenhout, note 16, 28; Müller, note 17, 36–41; Karen N. Scott, "Tilting at Offshore Windmills: Regulating Wind Farm Development within the Renewable Energy Zone" (2006) 18 (1) Journal of Environmental Law 89, 96.39 Nieuwenhout, note 16, 32.40 UNCLOS, Art 60(1)(b).41 Ibid.42 Müller, note 17, 41–43.43 Convention on the Continental Shelf, Geneva, 29 April 1958. Entered into force on 10 June 1964, 499 UNTS 311. Article 5 (5) states that "Any installations which are abandoned or disused must be entirely removed."44 Alexander Proelss, "Part V. Exclusive Economic Zone—Artificial Islands, Installations and Structures in the Exclusive Economic Zone," in Alexander Proelss (ed), United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea—A Commentary (Verlag C.H. Beck oHG, Hart Publishing, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, 2017), 468–469.45 Ibid.46 Edward Brown, "The Significance of a Possible EC EEZ for the Law Relating to Artificial Islands, Installations, and Structures, and to Cables and Pipelines, in the Exclusive Economic Zone" (1992) 23 Ocean Development and International Law 115, 121.47 These three conditions can be derived from Article 60(3) of UNCLOS.48 Proelss, note 44, 474.49 IMO Assembly Resolution A.672(16), of 19 October 1989, Guidelines and Standards for the Removal of Offshore Installations and Structures on the Continental Shelf and in the Exclusive Economic Zone, [1.1].50 J. M. Anderson, "Decommissioning Pipelines and Subsea Equipment: Legislative Issues and Decommissioning Processes" (2002) 25 Journal of the Society for Underwater Technology 105, 107.51 Techera and Chandler, note 10, 55–56.52 See the arguments of the ILA, albeit in a different textual context: International Law Association, Committee on Coastal State Jurisdiction Relating to Marine Pollution, Final Report adopted at the London Conference (2000), 37–38, 40.53 Ibid, Conclusion 6 on the 'pacta tertiis' principle and the rule of reference, 45.54 Proelss, note 44, 475; Erik Jaap Molenaar, Coastal State Jurisdiction over Vessel-Source Pollution (Kluwer Law International, 1998), 172–182.55 Source: https://www.elia.be/en/infrastructure-and-projects/infrastructure-projects/princess-elisabeth-island (accessed 14 March 2023).56 Source: https://www.elia.be/en/news/press-releases/2022/10/20221003_offshore-energy-island (accessed 3 January 2022).57 An artificial island should not be confused with the notion of islands as mentioned in Article 121 of UNCLOS. Islands. In Article 121 islands are naturally formed areas of land that can sustain human habitation or economic life of their own. For a broader discussion on islands, see Walter van Overbeek, "Article 121(3) LOSC in Mexican State Practice in the Pacific" (1989) 4 International Journal of Estuarine and Coastal Law 252, 259; Yoshifumi Tanaka, The International Law of the Sea (Cambridge University Press, 2019), 74–77; Robert Kolb, "L'Interprétation de l'Article 121, Paragraphe 3, de la Convention de Montego Bay sur le Droit de la Mer: Les « Rochers qui ne se prêtent pas à l'habitation humaine ou à une vie économique propre… » " (1994), 40 Annuaire français de droit international 876, 890; Jonathan I. Charney, "Rocks That Cannot Sustain Human Habitation" (1999) 93(4) American Journal of International Law 863, 864; Adam W. Kohl, "China's Artificial Island Building Campaign in the South China Sea: Implications for the Reform of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea" (2018) 122 (3) Dickinson Law Review Symposium Issue: Access to Justice: Innovations and Challenges in Providing Assistance to Pro Se Litigants 917, 924–925.58 Jaap Waverijn, "Artificial Islands Under UNCLOS: Room for 'New Beasts'" in Ruven Fleming, Kars de Graaf, Leigh Hancher and Edwin Woerdman (eds), A Force of Energy: Essays in Energy Law in Honour of Professor Martha Roggenkamp (University of Groningen Press, 2011), 103–110; Martha M. Roggenkamp and Lisa van Nieuwkoop, "Decarbonisatie op de Noordzee: de rol van kunstmatige eilanden" (2023) 5 (6) Nederlands tijdschrift voor Energierecht 244, 246–247.59 Imogen Saunders, "Artificial Islands and Territory in International Law" (2019) 52 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 642, 648–649; Alfred H. A. Soons, Artificial Islands and Installations in International Law (Law of the Sea Institute, University of Rhode Island, 1974), 1–2; Salah E. Honein and Ralph Beddard, The International Law Relating to Offshore Installations and Artificial Islands: An Industry Report (Lloyd's of London press, 1991), 1; Yi-Hsuan Chen, "South China Sea Tension on Fire: China's Recent Moves on Building Artificial Islands in Troubled Waters and Their Implications on Maritime Law" (2015) 1 Maritime Safety and Security Law Journal 1, 2–3; Nikos Papadakis, "Artificial Island in International Law" (1975) 3(1) Maritime Studies and Management 33, 33; Lisa van Nieuwkoop and Martha M. Roggenkamp, Legal Challenges for Offshore System Integration in Energy Hub: North Sea Energy 2020-2022 (University of Groningen, 2022), 15.60 Proelss, note 44, 470–471.61 Robin R. Churchill and Alain V. Lowe, Law of the Sea (Manchester University Press, 1999), 168.62 Proelss, note 44, 471.63 UNCLOS, Art 60(3).64 Wayne F. Nielsen and Tara Davenport, "Chapter 16. Submarine Cables and Offshore Energy" in Douglas R. Burnett, Robert C. Beckman and Tara M. Davenport (eds), Submarine Cables: The Handbook of Law and Policy, (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2014), 366.65 Source: https://www.elia.be/en/infrastructure-and-projects/infrastructure-projects/nautilus (accessed 14 March 2023). Source: https://www.elia.be/infrastructure-and-projects/infrastructure-projects/tritonlink (accessed 14 March 2023).66 Ceciel Nieuwenhout, "Chapter IV Offshore Hybrid Grid Infrastructures" in Martha M. Roggenkamp and Catherine Banet (eds), European Energy Law Report XII (Intersentia, 2018), 95–112.67 Müller, note 17, 35–64.68 Douglas. R. Burnett, "The Legal Status of Out-of-Service Submarine Cables" (2004) 137 Maritime Studies 22, 23.69 Dorota Englender, "Part VI. Continental Shelf—Submarine Cables and Pipelines on the Continental Shelf" in Alexander Proelss (ed), note 44, 623.70 Roeben Volker, "Governing Shared Offshore Electricity Infrastructure in the Northern Seas" (2013) 62 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 839, 845; Müller, note 17, 35.71 UNCLOS, Arts 58(1) and 87(1)(c).72 UNCLOS, Art 79(2), (5).73 UNCLOS, Art 79(4), Yoshinobu Takei, "Law and Policy for International Submarine Cables: An Asia-Pacific Perspective" (2012) 2 Asian Journal of International Law 205, 212–213; Rainer Lagoni, "Kapitel 3—Festlandsockel und ausschließliche Wirtschaftszone," in Wolfgang Graf Vitzthum (ed), Handbuch des Seerechts (Verlag C.H. Beck München, 2006), 204; Robert C. Beckman, "Submarine Cables—A Critically Important but Neglected Area of the Law of the Sea" (ISIL Conference, 2010), 7; Englender, note 69, 626.74 UNCLOS, Art 79(3).75 UNCLOS, Art. 79 (3); Proelss, note 44, 475; Englender, note 69, 626.76 Tara Davenport, "Submarine Communication Cables and Law of the Sea" (2012) 43 Ocean Development & International Law 201, 212; Takei, note 73, 213–214; Englender, note 69, 626.77 UNCLOS, Art 56(1)(b); UNCLOS, Arts 193–194; Given the central theme of this article and the relevance of this discussion to this article, this issue is not discussed further. See, however, Englender, note 69, 624–625.78 Müller, note 17, 44–53.79 UNCLOS, Art 192.80 Englender, note 69, 626; Anderson, note 50, 107; Burnett, note 68, 23.81 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, adopted 8 November 1996, entered into force 24 March 2006, 36 ILM 1.82 The Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, adopted 29 December 1972, entered into force 30 August 1975, 1046 UNTS 120.83 London Protocol, Art 1(4); Zhiguo Gao, "Current Issues of International Law on Offshore Abandonment with Special Reference to the United Kingdom" (1996) 28 Ocean Development & International Law 59, 71.84 London Protocol, Art 4(2); Hamzah, note 10, 340.85 Ibid.86 IMO Assembly Resolution A.672(16), of 19 October 1989, Guidelines and Standards for the Removal of Offshore Installations and Structures on the Continental Shelf and in the Exclusive Economic Zone. See Seline Trevisanut, "Chapter 18. Decommissioning of Offshore Installations: a Fragmented and Ineffective International Regulatory Framework," in Catherine Banet (ed), The Law of the Seabed (BRILL Nijhoff, 2020), 440.87 Proelss, note 44, 475.88 IMO Assembly Resolution A.672(16), of 19 October 1989, Guidelines and Standards for the Removal of Offshore Installations and Structures on the Continental Shelf and in the Exclusive Economic Zone, standard 3.13.89 Ibid, standard 3.12 and guideline 2.1.90 Ibid, standards 3.1 and 3.2.91 Ibid, standard 3.4.92 The application of these concepts requires a balancing act whereby the competing rights and obligations must weighed against each other by taking into account an evaluation of the extent of the interference, the availability of alternatives, and the importance of rights and policies at stake. Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitration (Mauritius v. United Kingdom), Award of 18 March 2015, [540].93 Ibid, [540].94 OSPAR Convention, Art 1(j).95 OSPAR Convention, Art 5(1) Annex III.96 OSPAR Commission, OSPAR Guidelines on Artificial Reefs in relation to Living Marine Resources (Reference number: 2012-3).97 Dolly Jørgensen, "OSPAR's Exclusion of Rigs-to-Reefs in the North Sea" (2012) 58 Ocean & Coastal Management 57, 57-61, Youna Lyons, "The New Offshore Oil and Gas Installation Abandonment Wave and the International Rules on Removal and Dumping" (2014) 28(3) International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 480, 500.98 OSPAR Decision 98/3 on the Disposal of Disused Offshore Installations; Drankier and Roggenkamp, note 10, 296.99 OSPAR Convention, Art 1(o)(ii).100 Ibid, Art 1(g)(iii); Ibid, Art 1, Annex II on dumping.101 OSPAR Guidance on Environmental Considerations for Offshore Wind Farm Development (2008-3), point 89.102 Ibid, point 93.103 Ibid, point 95.104 Ibid, point 96.105 Source: https://www.kustportaal.be/nl/de-belgische-kust (accessed 3 March 2023).106 Maes, note 4; Frank Maes, "The International Legal Framework for Marine Spatial Planning" (2008) 32 Marine Policy 797, 797–810; Frank Maes, "Ruimtelijke planning op zee in België: van plan naar proces en een nieuw plan" (2016) 4 Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht 416, 416–439.107 Act of 22 April 1999 Concerning the Exclusive Economic Zone of Belgium, Belgian Law Gazette 10 July 1999 (EEZ Act).108 Ibid, Art 39.109 Edouard Somers and Frank Maes, "The Law Applicable on the Continental Shelf and in the Exclusive Economic Zone: The Belgian Perspective" (2011) 25 Ocean Yearbook 249, 265.110 EEZ Act, Art 39.111 Explanatory memorandum, Draft act regarding the exclusive economic zone of Belgium in the North Sea, Parliamentary Document Chamber of Representatives 1998–1999, No 1902/1, 16.112 Royal Decree of 20 December 2000 on the conditions and procedure for granting domain concessions for the construction and operation of installations for the production of electricity from water, currents or winds, in the sea areas in which Belgium can exercise jurisdiction in accordance with international law of the sea, Belgian Law Gazette 30 December 2000 (Royal Decree of 20 December 2000).113 Royal Decree of 1 March 2018 on the conditions and procedure for granting domain concessions to the system operator for the construction and operation of electricity transmission facilities, in the maritime areas in which Belgium can exercise jurisdiction in accordance with the international law of the sea, Belgian Law Gazette 8 March 2018 (Royal Decree of 1 March 2018).114 Royal Decree of 20 December 2000, Art 13; Electricity Act, Art 6, §1.115 Royal Decree of 20 December 2000, Art 3, 5°.116 Jaap Waverijn, "Chapter 21. Navigating Legal Barriers to Mortgaging Energy Installations at Sea—The Case of the North Sea and the Netherlands" in Catherine Banet (ed), note 86, 506.117 The fact that the construction of OWFs and offshore grid infrastructure goes hand in hand with the trenching and raising of the seabed means that an OWF developer and system operator needs a permit (vergunning) (Act of 11 December 2022 on the protection of the marine environment and on the organization of marine spatial planning in Belgian sea areas, Belgian Law Gazette 16 December 2022 (Act on the Marine Environment), Art 25).118 This is considered to be completely removed; Ministerial Decree of 20 February 2008 granting the NV Belwind an authorization for the construction and a permit for the operation of a wind farm on the Blight Bank in the Belgian marine areas.119 Cf. article 10 of the Ministerial Decrees granting environmental permits to the OWF operators and implementing Articles 30 and 31 of Royal Decree of 7 September 2003 concerning the procedure for permitting and authorizing certain activities in the sea areas under the jurisdiction of Belgium, Belgian Law Gazette 17 September 2003; e.g., The environmental permit related to the Rentel OWF determines the financial security in the following way (in base value of November 2012, to be indexed):For the monopile configuration: per wind turbine: 10 858 €.For the configuration with gravity foundations, per wind turbine: 29 674 €.For the configuration with jacket foundations, per wind turbine: 19 999 €.Act on the Marine Environment, art 42; Laurens De Brucker, De vergunning van windturbines in het Vlaamse Gewest (Intersentia, 2021), 29.120 Royal Decree of 7 September 2003, Art 13, 5°.121 Steven Degraer, Robin Brabant, Bob Rumes et al., Environmental Impacts of Offshore Wind Farms in the Belgian Part of the North Sea (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), 2021), 58–59; Serena R. Wright, Christopher P. Lynam, David A. Righton et al., "Structure in a Sea of Sand: Fish Abundance in Relation to Man-Made Structures in the North Sea" (2020) 77 (3) ICES Journal of Marine Science 1206, 1215.122 Act of 29 April 1999 concerning the organization of the electricity market, Belgian Law Gazette 11 May 1999 (Electricity Act).123 Royal Decree of 1 March 2018, Art 2, 6°.124 Act of 13 June 1969 on the exploration and the exploitation of nonliving resources of the territorial sea and the continental shelf, Belgian Law Gazette 8 October 1969 (Act on the territorial sea and the continental shelf).125 Ibid, Art 4.126 Royal Decree of 12 March 2002 concerning the detailed rules for the laying of cables that enter the territorial sea or the national territory or that are placed or used in the context of the exploration of the continental shelf, the exploitation of the mineral resources and other nonliving resources thereof or of the work of artificial islands, installations or establishments under Belgian jurisdiction, Belgian Law Gazette 9 May 2002 (Royal Decree of 11 March 2002).127 Royal Decree of 11 March 2002, Art 5.128 Royal Decree of 11 March 2002, Art 5, 11°.129 Royal Decree of 11 March 2002, Art 5, 12°.130 Royal Decree of 11 March 2002, Art 6, 11°.131 Electricity Act, Art 6/3.132 Electricity Act, Art 6/3, §3, 6°.133 Electricity Act, Art 6/3, §3, 8°.134 Electricity Act, Art 6/3, §2; Act of 23 October 2022 amending the Act of 29 April 1999 on the organization of the electricity market and transposing Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on common rules for the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU, Belgian Official Gazette 26 October 2022, Art 4.135 Amendment, Draft act amending the law of 29 April 1999 on the organization of the electricity market and transposing Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on common rules for the internal electricity market and amending Directive 2012/27/EU, Parliamentary Document, Chamber of Representatives 2021–22, No. 2831/002, 2.136 ICES Advisory Committee, Report: OSPAR Request to Advise on the Current State and Knowledge of Studies into the Deployment and Environmental Impacts of Wet Renewable Technologies and Marine Enery Storage Systems (ICES, 2019), 6; Smyth, Christie, Burdon et al., note 15, 255; Ashley M. Fowler, Anne-Mette Jørgensen, Jon C. Svendsen et al., "Environmental Benefits of Leaving Offshore Infrastructure in the Ocean" (2018) 16 (10) Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 571, 576–577.