European Commission Drives North Sea 'Supergrid'

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The vice president of the European Commission (EC) has emphasized the key role that the creation of an offshore wind power grid in the North Sea will play in Europe's energy future.

Maros Sefcovic has confirmed E.C. plans to drive forward the development of a power grid that will connect the offshore windfarms of 10 member states.

"Already today renewable energies constitute a major share of Europe's energy mix," Sefcovic explained. "It has become a mainstream source, most European Union (EU) generation investments are renewables. In 2014, renewables generated 27% of the EU's consumed electricity. Wind energy already provides us with over 10% of Europe's electricity demand and by 2020 will reach 14%. That is a lot and a reason to be proud of. But is it enough? The answer is no. We need to do more, much more."

He added: "One very clear example is the North Seas Offshore Grid, which could provide a new wave of clean electricity into Europe's grid. It is a classic case where cross-border cooperation will be extremely mutually beneficial. It has therefore been very present in my discussions with governments and investors across the region. But one of the main obstacles for new infrastructure and investing more in renewables is regulatory stability. Private investment will not come if we, political decision-makers, do not set a stable regulatory climate for it. And we all know that this investment is very much needed. In fact, we are a looking at an investment need of 500 billion-600 billion euro ($530 billion-$635 billion) between 2015 and 2030 in the electricity sector alone."

Last month, Industrial Info reported that the EC had approved the first offshore "supergrid," which will connect Danish and German offshore windfarms. The 400-megawatt (MW) offshore interconnection will connect Germany's Baltic 1 (48 MW) and Baltic 2 (288 MW) windfarms with Denmark's proposed Kriegers Flak (600 MW) windfarm, using two high-voltage, direct-current (HVDC) subsea cables. The project forms part of a much larger plan by 10 EU nations to link windfarms in the North Sea with a potential combined generating capacity of 150-gigawatts (GW) by 2030. For additional information, see December 9, 2010, article - Europe's 'Supergrid' Project Takes Big Step Forward.

Sefcovic told reporters: "More and more political support is evident in having this project developed, although it is technically challenging. The technicals need to be resolved, and we need to develop a clear action plan where intervention might be needed. Financing issues remain but the Commission will finance feasibility studies, and if [the] project proves commercially viable, it will ensure lots of investment from the likes of the European Investment Bank. This project will be implemented during Dutch presidency of the European Union in the spring of next year, and I welcome their plans to prioritise it."

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