Offshore grid reduces costs for wind energy development by 14 billion €

To reach the national and European expansion targets for renewable energy efficiently, the construction of a northern European offshore grid is necessary. Instead of each individual wind farm at sea to include offshore wind farms should be preferred over collective have connections with the mainland. Thus, for the expansion of wind energy in North and Baltic save around 14 billion euros. This is one of the early results of a study presented October in Brussels the EU project offshore grid. The study at the end of this article can be ordered free of charge.

The study was commissioned by the European Union, led by 3E and in partnership with Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) and the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). The analysis provides decision-makers from politics, economics and management recommendations for the establishment of a European offshore grid.

As part of the European offshore grid project has been studied on the basis of comprehensive technical and economic analysis, the design of a European offshore grid. Both political and economic as well as technical and regulatory conditions were considered. A focus on the analysis of 321 offshore wind farms. It shows that 114 of these wind farms can be connected in collecting links. This allows the cost of network connectivity to reduce and simplify logistical tasks. At the same time, the number of environmental interventions that need to be made during the laying of submarine cables in protected coastal regions, can be reduced.

Additional economic benefits could be achieved through the connection of wind farms to connect cables between the two countries, known as interconnects. To realize the transnational offshore grid, it is important first and foremost a new unified regulatory framework to create.

The European project consortium consisted of eight institutions and companies: 3E, German Energy Agency (dena), the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Norwegian Institute for Energy Research (SINTEF), Polish Institute for Renewable Energy (IEO) Senergy Econnect and the Centre for Wind Energy Research (ForWind).

Dena is supported by seven national partners in the project implementation: Amprion, Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), ABB, Nexans Germany GmbH, Siemens AG, RWE Innogy GmbH, Vattenfall Europe Transmission GmbH