ECN: North Sea Transnational Grid Needed for Large Scale OW Integration

ECN Wind Energy has issued a report called “North Sea Transnational Grid: A better way to integrate large scale Offshore Wind Power”.

A huge amount of wind power, 30-60 GW, is foreseen in the northern part of the North Sea. These wind farms have to be connected to the national grids of five different countries in a flexible and economical way. Individual connection is straightforward but for several reasons possibly not the best choice. A high capacity North Sea Transnational Grid connecting wind farms to the national grids and at the same time connecting the national grids together, may well be a better solution for reasons of energy efficiency, availability, controllability, lower costs and the possibility to trade/exchange electricity.

The objective of the North Sea Transnational Grid project is to determine the best solution (modular, flexible, most cost effective) for a high capacity transnational offshore grid, connecting all future wind farms in the northern part of the North Sea to the Netherlands, UK, Norway, Denmark and Germany. Different technical solutions for a Transnational Grid will be investigated. For the most promising solution a multi-terminal converter controller will be developed and tested.

A second objective is to determine the effects of the Transnational Grid on the national grids, in which the operating strategy of the Transnational Grid will be developed to regulate power exchange correctly and avoid congestion. Moreover, the effect of the Transnational Grid on national grid stability will be investigated. The costs, benefits, policies and regulations related to realization of the North Sea Transnational Grid will also be investigated and compared to alternative scenarios.

The report is available on ECN’s website.

Press release, February 20, 2014; Image: NSTG-NL