Industry group launched to promote European supergrid
Monday 08 March 2010
 |
| The supergrid could connect renewable power sources across Europe |
A group composed of 10 global companies that aims to progress policy towards the development of a pan-European offshore 'Supergrid' for renewables, was officially launched in London today (March 8).
The 'Friends of the Supergrid' (FOSG) members will aim to deliver an electricity transmission system connecting wind hubs in the North Sea, hydropower in Scandinavia and solar power from Southern Europe via High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) infrastructure to centres of consumption.
The 10 founding members are organisations that FOSG said would not only be able to build the structures at sea, but also design, develop, install, own and operate the physical equipment.
They are: 3E; AREVA T&D; DEME Blue Energy; Elia; Hochtief Construction AG; Mainstream Renewable Power; Parsons Brinckerhoff; Prysmian Cables and Systems; Siemens; and Visser and Smit Marine Contracting.
In addition, FOSG said it would provide commercial and technical advice to policy makers.
Speaking at the launch Dr Eddie O'Connor, chief executive of Irish-based renewables company Mainstream Renewable Power, called the construction of the grid "the biggest project that Europe will ever have undertaken."
Dr O'Connor admitted that issues over who owns, finances, regulates and manages the grid would need to be resolved, but said that the first stage of a supergrid would be crucial in bringing electricity back to shore from Round 3 wind farms.
The group also claimed that meeting their vision would require vast investments in purpose-built ports and vessels, as well as a five-fold increase in cable manufacture.
However, Dr O'Connor was confident that the benefits would outweigh the costs and the project could pay for itself by creating a European market for electricity.
By balancing the variable output of wind with hydro and solar, he said it would maximise the benefits of different generation technologies and reduce Europe's dependence on imported energy supplies, as well as create a global opportunity for European companies to export sustainable energy technology.
The Friends of the Supergrid is uniquely placed to influence policy-makers towards creating the Supergrid
He said: "The UK government has recently shown its commitment to large-scale offshore wind by announcing the development of up to 50GW by 2020. We now need to integrate this huge resource into Europe to enable the open trade of electricity between Member States.
"The Friends of the Supergrid is uniquely placed to influence policy-makers towards creating the Supergrid and ultimately changing how we generate, transmit and consume electricity for generations to come."
Membership is to be kept to a maximum of 20 companies, headed by a soon-to-be elected chief executive, and the group aims to have both an industrial and geographic cross-section, with its base in Brussels.
Grid
Dr O'Connor has been one of the main supergrid advocates, calling for such an interconnector in January when Mainstream Renewable Power won the rights to develop the 4GW Hornsea zone in Round 3 of The Crown Estate's offshore wind licensing (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story).
The previous month, nine EU Member States, including the UK and Germany, signed a political declaration for an offshore wind grid (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story), but their plans did not incorporate other renewable generation.
Representing Siemens, Mathew Knight said that another project to link solar in the Sahara (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story) to the European network would complement the supergrid.
"The benefit of a supergrid comes when you collect all these technologies together," he said.
Print
