ESO, the UK’s electricity system operator, has published its proposal on how best to connect floating offshore wind farms in the Celtic Sea to the national grid. Their recommended network design facilitates the connection of up to 4.5GW of renewable energy capacity – enough to power over four million homes.
The Beyond 2030: Celtic Sea recommended design connects up to 3GW into two locations in South Wales and up to 1.5GW into the South West of England, with each of the three proposed offshore wind farms (also known as Project Development Areas, or PDAs) having its own connection to the onshore electricity network.
The proposals are for one high voltage direct current (HVDC) connection into a potential new South Wales Connection Node, and two connections utilising high voltage alternating current (HVAC) technology into Carmarthenshire and North Devon.
A number of shortlisted designs were rigorously assessed against four design objectives – impact on local communities and the environment, cost to the consumer, deliverability, and operability – allowing the ESO, they say, to arrive at a recommended design that carefully balances these considerations.
The proposals are an enabler of The Crown Estate’s Celtic Sea Floating Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5, a nationally significant 4.5 GW of floating offshore wind power that will connect directly into the transmission network – one of the largest floating wind initiatives in the world.
ESO’s director of strategic energy planning and chief engineer, Julian Leslie, said:
Offshore wind is vital to achieving the Government’s target for clean power by 2030, sustaining energy security and achieving net zero by 2050, so it is a really positive development that this is the first time an offshore wind leasing round will have been launched with a recommended high-level network design in place.
We have undertaken a rigorous process, in consultation with a range of stakeholders, to design the network needed to connect enough renewable capacity to power four million homes. Our proposal has additional potential as a catalyst for coordination with future green energy developments in South Wales and South West England into the future.
We are committed to delivering the clean, secure, decarbonised electricity system as set out by Government and Devolved Governments, through working collaboratively across all parts of the energy sector, government, the regulator and within our communities across Great Britain.