Powering Europe - European Wind Energy Association

Integrationofwindpowerineurope:thefacts
The costs of upgrading of the European network
should be socialised. Grid connection charges should
be fair and transparent and competition should be
encouraged.
Major national studies in the UK, Germany and Denmark
confirm that system integration costs are only
a fraction of the actual consumer price of electricity,
ranging from € 0-4/MWh (consumer level), even under
the most conservative assumptions. Integration
costs at European level beyond penetration levels
of about 25% are not expected to increase steeply.
Their value depends on how the underlying system
architecture changes over time as the amount of installed
wind gradually increases, together with other
generating technologies being removed or added to
the system.
The main tool for providing a pan-European planning
vision for grid infrastructure in line with the long-term
EU policy targets should be the regularly updated tenyear
network development plan (TYNDP) drafted by the
newly established body of European TSOs (ENTSO-E).
The TYNDP should reflect the Member States’ wind
power generation forecasts, as provided in their National
Renewable Energy Action Plans, realistically by
providing sufficient corridors of adequate capacity.
Technologies such as underground HVDC should be
used where it can accelerate the implementation.
Accelerated development and standardisation of
transmission technology, more specifically multi-terminal
HVDC VSC is necessary to avoid unnecessary delays.
Neither the proper regulatory conditions, nor any
attractive legal incentives for multinational transmission
are in place.
Significant barriers to expansion of the network towards
a truly pan-European grid exist, including public
opposition to new power lines (causing very long lead
times), high investment costs and financing needs
and the absence of proper cost allocation and recovery
methods for transmission lines serving more than
just the national interest of a single country.
11 http://www.offshoregrid.eu
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There is a wide range of short term actions that can
optimise the use of the existing infrastructure and
transmission corridors. These will help the European
transmission system to take up the fast-growing wind
power installed capacity, while maintaining high levels
of system security. Dynamic line rating and rewiring
with high-temperature conductors can significantly
increase the available capacity of transmission corridors.
A range of power flow technologies (FACTS) and
improved operational strategies are suitable immediate
options to further optimise the utilisation of the
existing network. Some of these measures have already
been adopted in the regions of Europe that have
large amounts of wind power.
A transnational offshore grid should be constructed to
improve the functioning of the Internal Electricity Market
and to connect the expected increase in offshore
wind energy capacity. Such an offshore grid would require
investments in the order of €20 to €30 billion
up to 2030.
Such an offshore grid should be built in stages, starting
from TSOs’ existing plans and gradually moving
to a meshed network. Demonstration projects connecting
offshore wind farms to two or three countries
should be built in the short term to test concepts and
develop optimal technical and regulatory solutions.
The consequences for the onshore grid in terms of
reinforcement in the coastal zones should be considered
at an early stage.
The creation of the necessary infrastructure for deploying
offshore wind power should be coordinated at
European level. The visions developed by EWEA – of
40 GW offshore wind energy capacity in 2020 and 150
GW by 2030 - and backed up by projects like OffshoreGrid
11 should be taken forward and implemented by
the European Commission and ENTSO-E. A suitable
business model for investing in the onshore and offshore
power grids and interconnectors should be rapidly
introduced based on a regulated rate of return for
investments.
Powering Europe: wind energy and the electricity grid