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TenneT and Energinet to sign agreement for artificial island

By: Tom Russell 08/03/2017 TenneT

General Turbines Windfarms

TenneT TSO B.V. (Netherlands), Energinet.dk (Denmark) and TenneT TSO GmbH (Germany) will sign an trilateral agreement in Brussels on 23rd March 2017 that will press ahead on developing a large renewable European electricity system in the North Sea.

TenneT unveiled its vision of the North Sea Wind Power Hub in June 2016. The Transition System Operator (TSO) said its close cooperation with Energinet.dk is an important next step towards accomplishing this vision and the 2050 climate goals formulated in the Paris Agreement (COP21).

Mel Kroon, CEO of TenneT, said: "This project can significantly contribute to a completely renewable supply of electricity in Northwest Europe. TenneT and Energinet.dk both have extensive experience in the fields of onshore grids, the connection of offshore wind energy and cross-border connections. TSOs are best placed to play a leading role in the long-term development of the offshore infrastructure. I am happy that we are going to take this step with our Danish colleagues and I look forward to the participation of other transmission system operators and possibly other partners."

Discussions are ongoing with other potential partners including other North Sea TSOs and infrastructure companies to achieve a multi-party consortium to realise the project.

Peder Østermark Andreasen, CEO of Energinet.dk said: "Offshore wind has in recent years proved to be increasingly competitive and it is important to us to constantly focus on further reduction in prices of grid connections and interconnections. We need innovative and large-scale projects so that offshore wind can play an even bigger part in our future energy supply."

Central to North Sea Wind Power Hub is the construction of one or more islands, so called Power Link Islands with interconnections to surrounding countries, in the middle of the North Sea.

The location of the Power Link (the island) should satisfy a number of requirements: optimal wind conditions, centrally located and in relatively shallow water. As a location for the island, the Dogger Bank meets all the conditions explained TenneT.

Offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of between 70GW to 100GW could then be connected to these islands from where the generated wind energy can be distributed and transmitted over direct current lines to the North Sea countries of the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Norway and Belgium.

Transmission cables could also simultaneously function as interconnectors between the energy markets of the aforementioned countries.

By building an island surrounded by wind farms at a relatively short distance, TenneT expects that the cost benefits associated with near-shore wind projects could be applied to those further from shore. The smaller distance between the wind turbines and island will allow use of the far cheaper alternating current (AC) connections. Converters on the island could covert the electricity to DC for transmission ashore, minimising losses. This also eliminates the need to build offshore platforms.

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TenneT and Energinet to sign agreement for artificial island

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