www.electric.co.uk
7th of January 2010
Europe's first electricity distribution network dedicated to renewable energy will become a reality this January, as nine European countries formally put together plans to connect their green energy projects in the North Sea.
The plan would link the wind turbines off the northern coast of Scotland with Germany's solar panel arrays, and would join the wave energy facilities on the Danish and Belgian coasts with Norway's hydroelectric dams. The electric network, connected by highly efficient underwater cables that could cost £26.5 billion, would resolve one of the main criticisms faced by renewable sources: that unpredictable weather conditions mean that renewable energy is unreliable.
With renewable sources linked to distribution grids, electricity can be produced across Europe from wherever the sun is shining, wind is blowing or the waves are rolling. Linked to Norway's hydroelectric power plants, it could serve as a huge 30GW battery to fuel Europe's clean energy.
By autumn, the nine countries involved – including Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK – hope to come up with a feasible plan to start building a high voltage DC network within 2020. The project will be a vital step in achieving the EU's pledge to generate 20 per cent of Europe's 2020 energy need from renewable sources.
Currently, about 100GW of offshore wind farm projects are in progress in Europe, approximately one-tenth of the EU's power requirement and equivalent to around 100 coal-fired plants. A European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) study in 2009 had already outlined where the undersea cables might be installed, which could serve as starting point for the negotiations of the nine countries.
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