TenneT expects to invest €25bn in onshore and offshore grids in the Netherlands and Germany over the next 10 years to ensure reliable supply of renewable energy across Europe.
In the Netherlands, planned investments include maintenance of the existing grid as well as grid expansions, such as a system capable of transporting 3.5GW by 2023 in the Dutch North Sea.
The company said in its 2016 results that the Dutch North Sea “offers opportunities for further expansion of wind power capacity”, particularly the IJmuiden Ver zone which can “accommodate enough wind farms to generate thousands of megawatts”.
TenneT said the zone could be connected to the grid by conventional methods or by a hybrid system with the cable also functioning as an interconnector between the Netherlands and the UK.
In Germany, the company said new or upgraded electricity connections are required to accommodate growth in renewable energy, which is often at non-traditional locations.
TenneT expects to have more than 10GW of offshore transmission capacity installed by 2025 in the German North Sea, up from just over 5.2GW currently.
The Dutch-German transmission operator (TSO) said that it will have more than 7.1GW installed by 2019.
The TSO also reiterated plans for an ‘energy island’ further offshore in the North Sea, which could connect wind farms with a combined capacity of up to 70GW to the German, Dutch, Belgian, Norwegian and Danish electricity markets.
The company’s earnings declined slightly in 2016 to just under €3.23bn from €3.29bn in 2015. This was mainly due to lower reimbursement of system service expenses, offset by additional revenue generated by our growing asset base, TenneT said.
TenneT chief executive Mel Kroon said: “Investments in the high-voltage energy systems are in everyone’s interest as they facilitate the transition to renewable energy and at the same time maintain security of supply.
“If we want to exploit all this green electricity in our Northwest-European region to the full, we cannot do without new power transmission links, both onshore and offshore.
“Innovations, partnerships and international cooperation are vital for this. In 2016, we have taken effective steps in all of these areas and we will continue to do so in the years to come.”
Image: TenneT
