Meshed offshore grid can bring significant financial, technical, and environmental benefits at the EU level, said recent study.
The study, conducted for the European Commission, by PWC, Ecofys, and Tractebel Engineering compares the costs and benefits of a “meshed” offshore grid in the Northern Seas region with separate radial connections to shore for each wind farm.
It shows that the net effect is that the infrastructure investment cost is EUR 4.9 to 10.3 billion higher for coordinated network development, due to need for more offshore hubs and fewer cables connected to shore. However, this investment pays for itself through the techno-economical, environmental, and strategic benefits that are enabled in this coordinated network development.
The annual savings in 2030 including costs of losses, CO2 emissions and generation savings are EUR 1.5 to 5.1 billion for coordinated offshore grid development. These monetized benefits make the coordinated offshore grid profitable in all scenarios.
For the full “Study of the benefits of a meshed offshore grid in Northern Seas region” visit the following link .
Marie Donnelly, Director for Renewables, Research and Innovation, Energy Efficiency in DG Energy of the European Commission will talk about this report in her key note speech during the session Developing an offshore grid, part of the fifth Offshore WIND Installation and Maintenance Conference. For more information click here .
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