Linking UK offshore wind farms directly to multiple neighbouring European countries through high-voltage subsea interconnector cables could cut energy bills for UK consumers, according to a new report published today by RenewableUK and National Grid.
Multi-purpose interconnectors (MPIs) are a new type of offshore infrastructure which has not yet been built in UK waters. Linking offshore wind farms to the UK and neighbouring countries using MPIs would reduce the amount of infrastructure needed to transport electricity, reducing impacts on coastal communities and the environment.
RenewableUK and National Grid created a taskforce to produce a series of recommendations to kickstart the use of this technology in UK waters, bringing together nineteen industry stakeholders, including governmental and regulatory bodies. Their findings have been published in the report, entitled ‘Stronger together’.
The report identifies several blockers and proposed solutions to overcome the challenges of building offshore wind and interconnectors together. It states that there is an economic prize to be won, as just three MPIs could deliver more than £13 billion in economic benefits to Great Britain and the connected countries.
The report recommends:
- Establishing a pilot scheme to agree how offshore wind farms and multi-purpose interconnectors can work best together:
- Creating policies that support investment in this new technology and provide clear guidance on network charges to give developers clarity on costs:
- Enabling revenue certainty for wind developers by establishing an investable regime for MPIs.
The UK is already linked to neighbouring countries via ten interconnectors but none of these is linked directly to a UK offshore wind farm, meaning that the full potential of offshore wind as a shared international resource remains untapped.
