Powering Europe - European Wind Energy Association

network planning carried out by the joint European
TSOs (see 4.5.2.). The practical consequence in the
short to medium term is that onshore reinforcements
have to be implemented on specific transmission corridors
and lines. The exact locations of connection
points, corridors and lines to be upgraded need to be
studied and identified. The OffshoreGrid project identified
a substantial shortage of capacity on onshore
connection points for the envisaged offshore capacities
in 2030. This implies that there is a significant
shortage of transmission capacity in coastal areas.
One of the first studies that looked into the need for onshore
reinforcements at European level is TradeWind.
On the basis of the wind power scenarios, the study
has identified upgrades that would significantly alleviate
the congestion in the European grid, for wind power
scenarios up to 2030. The EWIS study also looked
at the need for onshore reinforcement in Europe, but
its timeframe is limited to 2015, by which time the development
of offshore wind will only to a limited extent
trigger solutions and transmission upgrade levels at
European level.
Apart from upgrading the onshore transmission network,
other technical issues have to be addressed
such as the planning, operation and control of the
various interconnected power systems associated
with the addition of multiple HVDC terminals, and
the handling of the regionally distributed power flows
from offshore.
ENTSO-E North Sea regional group
Three of the working groups in ENTSO-E’s System Development
Committee are specifically dealing with
offshore transmission infrastructure. In the regional
groups, there is the North Sea group and the Baltic
Sea group. They are responsible for the cooperation
between the TSOs in these regions and the coordination
of power system planning. To get a long-term vision,
ENTSO-E established a working group for 2050
and the Supergrid which looks at the future needs
for a trans-European Supergrid. The working group
will draw up a programme of technical, regulatory,
chApTEr 4 Upgradingelectricitynetworks–challengesandsolutions
planning, policy and financial studies by 2011, and
will coordinate these studies in the following years.
Joint planning of wind power and
transmission and the associated
risks
The next decades will bring huge investments in offshore
wind energy and offshore electricity infrastructure.
In order to use these as effectively as possible,
careful planning is essential. Four topics are crucial:
• Location: First of all, offshore wind farms need to
be planned as close as possible to where they can
be connected, in areas with a good wind climate.
Furthermore, international cooperation is necessary
to maximise opportunities for sharing power
across borders and for linking wind power to
interconnectors.
• Timing: Joint planning of wind power plants and
transmission leads to risks of stranded investments.
Proper coordination is crucial, and regulators
should encourage this. Furthermore, adequate
maritime spatial planning should be made as soon
as possible in order to speed up and facilitate
permitting procedures and to reduce development
risks.
• Technical: The onshore grid should be reinforced
where necessary in order to accommodate the large
capacities of offshore wind farms. The technology
should be ready when it is needed, and planning
should be adjusted to the technology available (e.g.
when large wind farms are built far from shore, cables
and components with larger capacities should
be available).
• Supply chain: The availability of ports, vessels,
cranes, skilled workers etc. should be coordinated
internationally and followed up more closely. Government
plans and targets should allow for a secure
investment framework in the long term (e.g. not requiring
several GW to be installed every year until
2020 and stopping afterwards).
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