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nstalling wind farms far offshore means working
with costly cables and exorbitantly expensive
platforms which are not even used when the wind
drops. TenneT, the leading developer of offshore
high-voltage networks in Northern Europe, believes
there is another way. In collaboration with the
Dutch government, TenneT is developing a system to
link wind farms and homes so that everybody benefits.
‘We have learned from everything that's already
been tried internationally in this area. Until now, the
Netherlands has not been a leader in wind energy but
wind experts have already described the new approach
as the best roll-out system in the world. And we haven't
even started yet!' The first success has already been
achieved: during the tender procedure for the first
Dutch wind park, a Danish developer made the lowest
bid ever. How successful collaboration and a smart
network for renewable energy are helping to conquer
Europe.
You might think that it's about power
generation, not transport. How
important is that network?
‘That depends on your ambition. The
network is indeed a means, not an end
in itself. But if we want to achieve the
ambitions for green power set in Paris,
we will have to go a long way offshore.
The further you go, the longer the cables
you need. To prevent power losses, you
also have to switch from AC to DC and
that makes the platforms you need
larger and more costly to maintain. If we want to keep
maintenance and transformation affordable, we need
long-term planning, scale benefits and efficiency.’
What are the threats exactly?
‘Public support for wind energy on land is eroding. That
is one reason more and more countries are turning to
the sea. But they have been doing that on their own,
and every project has been tackled differently. Just look
at the size of those platforms for direct current: they
are like enormous high-rise flats in the sea. If you think
about it, platforms should be standardised to simplify
the work of engineers. And if you install cables to trade
energy between countries, you should make the most
of them. So we think it makes sense to adopt a planned
approach, to ensure continuity, to work with standard
solutions and to establish an international network.’
You are even talking about an artificial
island on the Dogger Bank: isn't that just
pie in the sky?
‘We have worked out that the Dogger Bank – mid-
way between Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany
and the UK – is a perfect area for wind energy.
There is a lot of wind there and it is shallow.
That cuts construction costs. The island
makes maintenance easier. It also helps
to minimise the cost of transporting the
electricity to land and it facilitates the
trading of energy between countries. In the
end, that generates income. This plan is right
for the scale of the ambitions, and it helps to
‘BOUNDARIES MEAN
NOTHING TO ELECTRONS:
NOW IT'S UP TO US’
Last summer, the North Sea countries announced that they would
be collaborating on wind farms far offshore. The quality of the
network that links all those turbines to millions of consumers is
essential,’ says Marco Kuijpers, senior Offshore Wind manager
for the Netherlands at TenneT. ‘Cooperation has become more
important than technology.’
BY PJOTR VAN LENTEREN
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ENERGY ANDWATER DOSSIER