Thursday, March 1, 2012

Ofgem outlines plan to build cheaper offshore wind grid links

DECC and Ofgem report argues coordinated transmission links could shave £3.5bn from cost of offshore wind

From  Business Green
01 Mar 2012

The government's goal of cutting the cost of offshore wind energy to £100 per mega watt hour has moved significantly closer, after energy regulator Ofgem released a series of proposals on how to deliver a cheaper and more efficient offshore energy grid.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and Ofgem today published the findings of a joint study into developing a co-ordinated grid network, which would make it easier for marine energy developers to build oversized transmission links which later projects could plug into when they are ready.

Until now developers have built individual connections for each wind farm, but the report found that a more co-ordinated approach in line with government targets to build 11GW-18GW of wind farm capacity by 2020 could save between £500m and £3.5bn.

Ofgem said such an approach could help meet the government's target of reducing the cost of offshore wind to £100 per mega watt hour (MWh) by 2020, and could also pave the way for an offshore network in the North Sea linking wind farms off Britain's coast to other European countries.
The new regime could also be used by wave and tidal power developers as they scale up arrays to commercial levels.

Ofgem has today launched a consultation to establish the best way of encouraging developers to build shared links, given the risk that assets could become stranded if developers scrap plans for later wind farms.

read on at http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2156481/ofgem-outlines-plan-build-cheaper-offshore-wind-grid-links

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