National Grid ESO has picked DNV GL to lead an offshore transmission project in the UK.
The Offshore Coordination Project aims to “advise and shape the future national strategy” for offshore grid development in Great Britain.
The project will analyse a coordinated approach for offshore grid development and shape the future national strategy of Great Britain’s offshore grid through feeding into the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s Offshore transmission network review, which also involves UK regulator Ofgem.
The UK has an installed capacity of over 10GW of offshore wind and will soon be home to the world’s largest wind farm, Dogger Bank.
Offshore wind continues to be a key electricity source for the UK government and will help the country meet its net zero by 2050 target.
The Offshore Coordination Project will review and recommend ways to improve how offshore wind farms are connected to the onshore transmission network.
DNV GL has been commissioned to assess the viability of a coordinated approach that includes assessing technology availability (HVDC equipment), analysing technical and regulatory barriers and solutions and studying implications on power system security and stability.
The project also involves developing offshore and onshore grid designs and conducting societal cost-benefit analysis of the offshore grid.
National Grid ESO strategy and regulation head Craig Dyke said: “This is an important project to be working on with DNV GL, examining different technological and engineering solutions for offshore grid development and relative different costs and benefits.
“We are committed to helping facilitate offshore wind’s contribution to the UK’s net zero target, as well as ensuring value for money for consumers and reducing the environmental and social impact of onshore connections to local communities.”
DNV GL North Europe, Middle East and Africa executive vice president Prajeev Rasiah said: “We are honoured to lead this project particularly as the UK Government has committed to installing 40GW of offshore capacity by 2030.
“This means that offshore transmission and distribution grids need to be capable of supporting the increasing supply of clean electricity from offshore wind projects and help the UK meet its decarbonisation plans.
“The Offshore Coordination Project is a vital venture which will create many lessons learnt and may help to develop an industry standard approach to benefit not just the UK but also other countries.”