First Offshore 'Supergrid' Gets European Green Light

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The first offshore 'supergrid' to connect Danish and German offshore windfarms has been approved by the European Commission (EC).

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. Kriegers Flak and the Baltic windfarms are located less than 30 kilometers from each other. The project forms part of a much larger plan by 10 European Union (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.

The Kriegers Flak--Combined Grid Solution project will use multi-terminal HVDC voltage source converter (VSC) technology to convert the power to suit both national grids, which operate at different frequencies. Windfarms are traditionally linked using radial solutions to the home country's grid. The linked windfarms will be capable of supplying power to both countries, boosting energy security and electricity trading.

The project, being developed by Energinet.dk (Frederica, Denmark) and 50Hertz (Berlin, Germany), will cost an estimated 900 million euro ($1 billion), with the EC agreeing to supply euro 150 million ($167 million) from the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR).

"The new interconnection will contribute to guaranteeing the same high level of security of supply for consumers in Eastern Denmark going forward," said Peder Østermark Andreasen, president and chief executive officer of Energinet.dk. "It will allow producers and consumers to buy and sell more power across the borders. This adds more value to renewable energy and the green transition."

Boris Schucht, chief executive officer of 50Hertz, added: "The approval by the European Commission is an acknowledgement to our work in integrating renewable energy sources with innovative approaches while strengthening the European electricity market. It shows that cooperation between the European transmission system operators is the right answer to the challenges of the energy transition. With the Combined Grid Solution, we create the nucleus for an offshore grid in the Baltic Sea, a milestone in the development of European grids."

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