New high-voltage substation in Ghent part of North Sea Port

We have just received the planning permit and construction of the new 380/150 kV (kilovolt) Baekeland high-voltage substation will start soon. It will be an important hub in the backbone of the Belgian electricity grid.

Baekeland will give the port of Ghent (North Sea Port) and the surrounding industrial zones more and better access to electricity, which will support the energy transition.

A high-voltage substation receives electricity via cables and overhead lines; transformers then convert the electricity into different voltage levels for large consumers and distribution.

Located between the coast and the ports of Ghent and Antwerp - on a fifteen-hectare site at Lange Mate/Hulsdonk - and named after the Ghent chemist Leo Baekeland (the inventor of Bakelite), Baekeland will be an important link in the backbone of our Belgian electricity system.

Strategic hub for the port and the region

Baekeland will enable more energy-intensive companies and production units to connect directly to our high-voltage network. This will be important for the industrial anchoring of companies in our country and the port of Ghent, an important economic dynamo. 

In other words, Baekeland will give the port and the entire surrounding region more access to larger volumes of electricity. This will enable us to meet the growth in demand for electricity in the region.

Work in phases

Work on the high-voltage substation will take place in a number of phases. The first phase has been completed. The fifteen-hectare site (20 football fields) has been made ready for construction: in some places, the ground has been levelled to a height of 4 metres, several pylons from the 380 kV Horta -Mercator line have been moved and several 150 kV lines have been laid underground.

Construction of the new high-voltage substation and electrical facilities will start in the second phase. Baekeland will consist of three 380 kV hybrid substations with both air and gas-insulated technologies and two 150 kV substations. 

The site will also have seven buildings (e.g. for storage) and also relay rooms for the correct, remote management of the high-voltage substation. We will create a ten-metre green buffer around the site.