Offshore wind farms try to increase their energy efficiency Northern European countries

Northern European countries are in talks to set up a common North Sea electricity grid for the underground connection of future offshore wind farms, as they seek to boost their energy security, but the ambitious proposal faces financial and regulatory challenges. .

According to Reuters, European countries have announced the construction of several offshore wind farms, driven in part by the need to reduce heavy dependence on Russian oil and gas after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The more interdependent we become in Europe, the more independent we will become from Russia,” European Commission President Ursula von der Layen told reporters during a May visit to the Danish port of Esbjerg, which is used by manufacturers. Vestas and Siemens Gamesa wind turbines.

“We all know that green energy production is important. But if you really want to use it, you need a network there too, we need to step up our efforts,” he said.

It is not clear, however, how huge amounts of green energy can be exchanged across borders without overloading the already overloaded land networks or using a very large number of cables.

One idea under consideration is offshore networks, with new wind farms connected to junctions or energy islands and connected by cables that will power many European markets instead of just one.

The Danish network company Energinet is already discussing the connection of two “energy islands” in the Danish parts of the North and Baltic Seas with Germany and Belgium.

There are also talks with Norway, the Netherlands and Germany on future projects, said Hanne Storm Edlefsen, head of energy island development at Energinet.

Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium announced in mid-May plans to build 150 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power by 2050, from just 15 today.

“What is completely new is that we see the development of renewable energy sources as something that is best done together,” Danish Climate and Energy Minister Dan Jorgensen told Reuters.

A network in the North Sea would save money and help manage production instability, with wind production varying by location but often following a predictable pattern, said Chris Peeters, CEO of Belgian transmission network operator Elia.

“Many meteorological phenomena tend to travel over Europe, you see them crossing the Irish Sea over the North Sea and into the Baltic,” he told Reuters.

An offshore energy hub would also allow the wind energy generated to be stored offshore until consumers need it on land.

“We have this island, which collects energy from the wind and then carries it ashore or brings it to another node which then carries it ashore to the country that is in demand at the moment,” Peeters said.

This avoids overloading the grid on land, which is a common problem in Germany, which systematically pays Danish wind turbines to shut down their wind turbines for a period of time in order to limit imports and avoid overburdening them. its network.

Time consuming and costly project

However, setting up such a network would take at least a decade to build and would likely cost more than double-digit billions of dollars, industry sources told Reuters.

Currently, there is only one cable in Europe, which connects various wind farms in the Baltic Sea with both Denmark and Germany and is operated by Energinet and the German network operator 50Hertz, of which Elia owns 80%.

Hybrid projects combine elements of production and transportation and connect two or more markets, while existing offshore wind farms have traditionally sent their energy to land via individual cables in a single country.

It is also unclear who will invest and develop these projects, which involve many countries and in some cases include non-EU Britain.

“The big problem is that all parties have to be motivated to be involved in the development of hybrid projects, and that is not the case at the moment,” said Ulrik Stridsbaek, Orsted’s chief regulator.

The current regulation does not allow for the necessary sharing of costs and revenues that would motivate all parties to invest, he said.

Nevertheless, Orsted, which has built about a quarter of the world’s offshore wind farms, considers hybrid projects vital to unleashing the future potential of offshore wind energy.

“We believe that hybrid projects can save a lot of time, money and hassle,” Stridsbaek told Reuters.

More hybrid interfaces are being planned across Europe, but the main obstacle is the lack of a clear European regulatory framework, according to Giles Dickson, head of industry lobby WindEurope.

“It makes no sense to continue to develop offshore wind energy for the huge volumes to which governments are now committing if we only try to do it through point-to-point grid connections,” he told Reuters.

However, these may be the solution in the short term, as Europe seeks to rapidly develop its offshore wind capacity to replace Russian fossil fuels, said Soeren Lassen, a Wood Mackenzie researcher.

“I’m not sure if such networks will be the solution in the short term in the 2020s,” he said. Legal barriers remain and carry the risk of delays, he added.

WindEurope’s Dickson argues that there should be no delay if the Commission gives some key guidelines on what the arrangement will look like in the future.

“It can be done very quickly if there is the political will,” he said. “It’s not nuclear physics.”