Offshore Electricity Infrastructure in Europe - European Wind Energy ...

FIGURE 2.6: cOMMOdITY PRIcES
Prices (€2007/MWh)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
gains in energy efficiency are offset by rising electricity
consumption due to robust economic growth in
Eastern and Southern European countries, hence the
slight increase in electricity demand in the forecast for
the next two decades.
Fuel prices and CO 2 prices
Figure 2.6 gives an overview of the chosen commodity
price scenarios 9 . Lignite and hard coal prices remain
relatively stable until 2030. Gas prices increase
slightly. The sharpest increase in prices is expected
for crude oil and CO 2 .
CO2 [€ 2007/t]
2.3 Technology to connect
Gas EU
offshore wind energy
9 Detailed explanations of the chosen prices can be found in Annex A. For gas and lignite, national prices have been considered.
OffshoreGrid – Final Report
2010 2020 2030
Crude oil 35,4 44,9 53,8
Hard coal 11,1 10,7 10,1
Lignite EU 4,2 4,2 4,2
Gas EU 21,5 23,8 24,6
CO 2 (€ 2007/t) 23,0 36,0 44,4
study takes into account possible future technology
developments. The cost specifics of the equipment
were elaborated in close cooperation with the main
technology suppliers, and checked within the stakeholder
workshops for plausibility.
Thus the OffshoreGrid study had a complete portfolio
of technologies to choose from, including detailed
information on technical behaviour, as well as specific
investment, maintenance and operation costs.
It included different offshore and onshore transmission
technologies as well as all relevant HVAC and
HVDC technologies, switching equipment and substation
technology. A more detailed overview is given in
Annex B.I, available on www.offshoregrid.eu.
Lignite EU
Preferred technology for offshore wind
connection
The OffshoreGrid Hard consortium coal based its investigation The establishment of an extensive offshore grid link-
on an in-depth technology analysis for onshore and ing countries across the North and Baltic seas, and
Crude Oil
offshore transmission equipment. Apart from the to a lesser extent the connection of offshore wind
2010 2020 2030
equipment that is available today, the OffshoreGrid farms to those countries, relies on High Voltage Direct
crude oil 35,4 44,9 53,8
hard coal 11,1 10,7 10,1
lignite EU 4,2 4,2 4,2
gas EU 21,5 23,8 24,6
CO2 (€ 2007/t) 23,0 36,0 44,4
25