Our Managing Director, Kerr Wright, talks about the role of developing grid infrastructure to support the transitioning energy sector and the boom in offshore wind. 

 

The Energy Transition and Grid Infrastructure

Offshore wind is a vital part of the UK’s strategy to achieve net zero by 2050. Currently, the UK has over 14 GW of offshore wind capacity installed, and Government targets are aiming for 50 GW by 2030. With new windfarms becoming larger and larger and some being built further offshore, allowing them to harness more power from high-speed winds, significant investment in sophisticated infrastructure is required to bring power onshore and supply the National Grid.

The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee’s 2024 report Enabling sustainable electrification of the economy says, “The pipeline of planned renewable energy generation projects is sufficient to deliver the UK’s highly aspirational targets but is currently being held back by slow grid connections, limited grid capacity, inappropriate planning regulations and market uncertainty.”

Currently this is an area where projects face a major bottleneck, with thousands of applications currently ‘in the queue’ for the National Grid.  The UK is not alone in this. According to WindEurope’s 2024 report Grid access challenges for wind farms in Europe, “More than 500 GW of total wind capacity in Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain and the UK are waiting for grid connection assessment.” 

 

The National Grid

The UK National Grid plays an essential part in transporting electricity from its source, whether gas, onshore or offshore wind farms, nuclear or coal-fired power plants, into our homes.

Image credit: BBC News

 

The figures for 2022 (the most recent full year for which data is available) show where our electricity was coming from, with gas still in the lead but wind starting to catch up. Latest figures for Q2 2024 show wind power being the UK’s largest source of electricity, supplying 32%, with 31% from gas.

Existing grid infrastructure is being upgraded constantly, following the high-level designs laid out by the National Energy Systems Operator (NESO), an independent body established under the 2023 Energy Act, who provide an evidence-based assessment of the UK’s grid.

Grid capacity must grow to keep pace with the boom in renewables and increasing investment in harnessing solar, wind and tidal power. Unfortunately, there are challenges in scaling quickly enough. Looking forward, this is a key area of focus and investment for the UK. Earlier this year, the National Grid announced plans to invest £60 billion over the next five years, almost double the investment of the last five years. Such significant spending should result in more transmission lines and grid connections which can link more offshore wind assets to the UK’s energy system.

 

Challenges in Grid Infrastructure Expansion 

There are two major issues facing grid expansion: skills shortages and supply chain issues. It is well documented that the transitioning energy sector is creating jobs, and skilled engineers are always in demand. Here at FoundOcean we have long supported the ‘This is Engineering’ campaign, with its aim to attract more budding talent into the sector. Now is an excellent time to join the energy industry and support the growth in renewables and grid expansion.

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) is an independent body which advises government on long term infrastructure challenges, and they highlight issues in the supply chain in their reporting. In their Second National Infrastructure Assessment, published in 2023, they say, “The global supply chain for key infrastructure components, such as specialised high voltage grid equipment, is already stretched, as many countries and companies are seeking to invest at the same time.”

 

Current and Future Grid Solutions

There are plans, some already underway, to make progress towards a well-connected grid. A really positive project making a huge difference to grid connection are interconnectors such as the North Sea Link, a joint venture between the National Grid and Norwegian system operator Statnett, which connects the UK to Norway, and other Nordic countries. This underwater cable is capable of sharing up to 1400MW of electricity – enough to power around 1.4 million homes – and became operational in September 2022. The UK’s sixth interconnector, the Viking Link to Denmark, came online in December 2023 and is the world’s longest onshore and subsea HVDC cable.

New technology is also beginning to make a difference. NIC suggests that smart grids could become more prevalent in the future and make the system more efficient. Smart grids use Internet of Things (IoT) technology to monitor changes in supply and usage, respond in real time, and balance the system. Battery storage is a hot topic at the moment and is a complementary aspect of infrastructure to smart grid technology –   allowing renewable energy to be stored when there is a surplus and deployed when necessary. Even when there is no sunshine or wind, we can still benefit from renewable energy.

As offshore wind becomes a more and more significant part of the UK’s energy mix, it is vital that major players in the sector work together with the National Grid. Offshore wind developer Ørsted already has 12 windfarms in UK waters, with more under development. Onshore, they are also responsible for installing underground cabling which helps deliver this power into people’s homes. This cabling work has also had the added benefit of leading to archaeological discoveries – like a previously unknown Anglo-Saxon settlement in Laceby, North East Lincolnshire, discovered whilst preparing the site for cables to connect the Hornsea One Wind Farm to the grid.

 

Transatlantic Crossings

RWE Renewables also works in partnership with the National Grid, but takes this expertise overseas to the US, helping to connect their new offshore wind infrastructure to the grid. In 2021, RWE signed a partnership agreement to work together on developing offshore wind and grid infrastructure in the Northeast, which includes jointly winning a bid in the New York Bight seabed lease auction. Even though we may think of the National Grid as a UK enterprise, they too are working in the US, with a $4 billion ‘Upstate Upgrade’ underway, which represents the largest investment in New York’s electricity transmission network for over a century.

 

Conclusion

Grid infrastructure is such an important part of the energy transition and the pressure is on to keep pace with the growing input from renewable energy sources. Key investment in this area will help the UK, and other countries, make best use of their expanding networks of offshore wind farms.

 

For more information on FoundOcean’s experience and capabilities, contact the team on +44 1506 440330 or email info@foundocean.com