UK system operator unveils grid plan to reach 86GW of offshore wind by 2035
UK system operator unveils grid plan to reach 86GW of offshore wind by 2035 | Windpower Monthly
UK electricity system operator (ESO) National Grid has published a £58 billion (€68 billion) investment plan it says could see 21GW of additional offshore wind integrated by 2035 and the country’s offshore wind total reaching up to 86GW.
The plan builds on the country’s existing 'pathway to 2030 holistic network design' (HND) grid plan, which will connect 23GW of offshore wind and help deliver the UK’s 50GW by 2030 offshore wind target.
The extra 21GW of wind in the new Beyond 2030 plan is in development off the coast of Scotland (under the ScotWind leasing mechanism). Integrating this, along with nuclear, would enable the UK to fully decarbonise by end 2035 in line with the current government’s goal, the ESO said.
The extra energy generated would be transported via a new electrical spine across Scotland and north England, although the ESO notes this is “an early-stage option which will require further consideration and consultation”.
Widely welcomed by the industry, the Beyond 2030 plan also recommends further “offshore bootstraps” along the east coast of Britain, with three times more undersea cabling than onshore.
Further design optimisation, innovation and community engagement will be undertaken to ensure that the needs of different communities and wider economic and system security needs are balanced, the ESO said. It called for “swift and coordinated action” across the energy sector, government, the regulator and communities to deliver the network infrastructure in time.
Related Knowledge Center: Offshore wind energy
Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.