Dutch power company proposes North Sea offshore wind island hub

Dutch firm TenneT BV has come up with a new “'hub and spoke” concept for a North Sea wind farm initiative. It involves the connection of several wind farms to one “island” centre, with the electricity generated exported to various locations using cables. TenneT believes the concept could generate up to 30GW of electricity and suggests that Dogger Bank would be a prime location. It is claimed the “radial” system would make reducing CO2 targets “feasible and affordable”. Talks are set to take place with other EU countries regarding co-operation for the project.

Tennet has developed a new concept based on the 'hub and spoke' principle to boost offshore wind development in the North Sea.



The vision (pictured) entails building an island in the middle of the sea to which many wind farms would be connected.

The island location would then feed direct current cables to several countries to allow for the export of electricity.In addition, the cables would serve as interconnections between the energy markets of the countries, allowing international power trade.The island scheme would require shallow waters, a central location and a high wind site. TenneT cited the Dogger Bank as a possible location with building not expected until after 2030.The scheme would provide enough space for about 30GW of capacity.Such a radial system would make CO2 reduction targets feasible and affordable, the TSO said.It would also cut the cost of offshore wind development far from the shore which will be needed in the long term once near-shore projects are built, it added."In Germany and more recently in the Netherlands, TenneT has the role of developer and operator of the offshore grid,” TenneT chief executive Mel Kroon said.“From this responsibility we have taken the initiative to establish a realistic and achievable plan for further development of the North Sea.”The TSO will enter into talks with the EU and the member states to see whether the required European cooperation can be set up.