Offshore 1.8GW
The total energy capacity of the Anglo-Dutch LionLink project, set to
become operational in the early 2030s. UK Government
influence the development of the project results before the consortium completes and publishes the final versions of its deliverables, according to Silvant. Cornelis Plet, head of department, vice-president – power systems advisory at Norway’s DNV, takes up the point. Among the myriad of challenges from a technological standpoint lies the development of a grid code – a set of operational guidelines – for the meshed grid between the affected countries. This will ensure equipment for all parties will be designed along one common standard, which will enable compatibility.
As he notes, in words Silvant would echo: “This standard doesn’t exist currently and as a result DC systems being developed in different countries and operators – by different developers and by different manufacturers – have different characteristics that preclude the interconnection of such systems into one large grid.”
Focusing on the challenges Plet also focuses on the logistical challenges involved, given the limited supply chains for both manufacturing capacity as well as transport and installation vessels for HVDC transmission equipment. “The number of vendors is very limited, and the manufacturing industry isn’t sufficiently incentivised to make costly and risky investments in new production lines, in the fear that the current boom will be temporary and production lines will go idle once it is over,” he notes, before adding, “This is further compounded by the constraints on the work force, there simply aren’t enough people with the required expertise to realise the required pace of build-out.”
Energy islands, however, are increasingly being viewed as a significant step forward across the renewables sector, though their benefits will be felt along a longer term than some projects. Of course, they still need to be accompanied by sufficient political and economic will to make them become a reality, and time will tell whether they’ll receive this. The argument for energy islands, however, remains
clear. These hybrid infrastructure projects, once the interoperability and logistical problems have been addressed, will offer export opportunities for offshore wind farms, as well as reducing the overall cost of establishing efficient grids. In addition, they will increase the resiliency and security of electricity supply in the region, exploit better complementarities in energy mixes and different weather conditions, and reduce the environmental impact compared to less optimised grid configurations. While the EU is doing what it can within its mandate, according to Plet, ultimately it is the individual member states that will pull the strings – notably through forums such as North Seas Energy Cooperation, as well as via recent multi-lateral
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agreements between Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and the UK, for example. “More could be done to ensure that costs and benefits are allocated fairly and transparently across borders within and outside the EU,” says Plet, adding that “the clearest example of this is Norway, where significant local opposition to more interconnection is growing as it raises the local power price.
“The hydropower and associated storage resources of Norway will be indispensable for the energy transition in Europe, so more could be done to channel the benefits of increased interconnection between Norway and the mainland to people and organisations who are affected by higher power prices,” he continues.
Getting to the point of interoperability will likely prove onerous – yet, that doesn’t mean the industry in 2023 is in stasis. As a case in point, the recently announced Anglo-Dutch LionLink initiative between National Grid Ventures and TenneT is set to become operational in the early 2030s. This project plans to carry some 1.8GW of electricity, dwarfing the existing German–Danish Kassø-Frøslev, also known as Kriegers Flak, which carries a mere 0.4GW. Indeed, the new project, which will connect the UK and the Netherlands with both nations’ offshore wind farms, will be the largest of its kind in the world. To measure the scale of the project, it builds on the 8.4GW interconnector capacity the UK currently boasts by up to a fifth and will produce enough power for 1.8 million homes – equivalent to Birmingham and Manchester combined.
Answering the big questions The larger question, however, is how the work of the EU, InterOPERA and others can enable an offshore power market and how this will impact the operation of the grid. According to Plet, it will require the formation of an offshore market model – one that will essentially dictate how many small zones the grid is geographically split into and within which the power price will be determined, based on congestion on links between the zones. Studies have shown, for example, that going to a small zones concept – where each node is its own zone – is the most economically optimal scenario. It also removes any regulatory issues around hybrid or multi-purpose infrastructure, according to Plet. In the meantime, the LionLink initiative already demonstrates how seriously North Sea states are taking matters when it comes to building energy islands and achieving their net zero ambitions in the longer-term. Going forward, similar large-scale projects should emerge over the coming years. Demonstrating the political will and providing the necessary economic incentivisation will in part help the realisation of this. But will it be totally forthcoming? ●
World Wind Technology /
www.worldwind-technology.com
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