Ofgem has approved five new undersea energy links for U.K. offshore wind projects located in the North Sea.
Two of the projects will also create Great Britain’s first offshore hybrid assets (OHA), which can directly feed energy generated by offshore wind farms into both the U.K. and European grids.
The new OHA are expected to maximize the efficiency of both interconnection and transmission by providing one-stop connections which can transmit electricity from wind farms to grids when they are generating, and can provide more interconnector capacity at other times. They are also meant to cut down on the footprint of infrastructure needed by combining both interconnection and offshore wind connection into a single asset.
“We’ve carefully assessed all the proposed projects and only approved those ones which deliver for consumers in terms of value, viability and energy security,” says Akshay Kaul, director general for infrastructure at Ofgem.
“As we shift to a clean power system more reliant on intermittent wind and solar energy, these new connections will help harness the vast potential of the North Sea and play a key role in making our energy supply cheaper and less reliant on volatile foreign gas markets and associated price spikes.”
The greenlit new projects are:
- Tarchon Energy Interconnector: This 610 kilometer subsea cable between East Anglia and Niederlangen, Germany would deliver 1.4 GW.
- Mares Connect: This 190 kilometer subsea cable between Bodelwyddan, North Wales to the Republic of Ireland will deliver 0.75 GW.
- LirIC: This 142 kilometer subsea electricity interconnector between Kilroot in Northern Ireland to Hunterston in Ayrshire, Scotland will deliver 0.7 GW.
- LionLink: This OHA will connect Dutch offshore wind farms to the U.K. grid with an onshore landing point in Suffolk, providing 1.8GW to each country.
- Nautilus: This OHA will connect Belgium offshore wind farms to the U.K. grid, coming ashore at the Isle of Grain in Kent, and providing 1.4 GW to each country through subsea electricity cables.
The new projects are all expected to be complete and operational by 2032.
