To meet the ambitious global net-zero targets, countries will have to work collaboratively and share renewable power sources utilizing the offshore hybrid model of interconnection between neighbouring countries and eventually regions/continents. This is all part of the wider smart grids vision of demand side management and optimized electricity systems. What are interconnectors you ask? Interconnectors are high-voltage (HVDC) cables that connect the electricity systems of neighbouring countries, which enables excess power, such as that generated from wind and solar farms, to be traded and shared between countries. This will optimise and maximise the full use of energy generated from renewable energy sources and essentially reduces wasted energy, making for a greener, more efficient power system. For true interconnection to take shape, it would have to be built region-by-region across the globe and requires several technological advancements across the electricity industry. Similarly, under-developed countries/regions will have to scale up their infrastructural development to allow for the trading and sharing of surplus electricity (gas as well).
Interconnectors allow operators to react quickly to changes in supply due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy generation (wind both offshore & onshore, tidal & waves, solar), and to manage peak demand by sharing with neighbouring countries in different time zones. The overall vision is to be able to send power from the North Seas & Scandinavia, down through to Spain and onwards to North Africa and eventually across Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East & South Africa. Ambitious projects, like X-Links, are just the stepping stones towards changing the landscape of the electricity markets for greener and more efficient utilisation of intermittent energy sources across regions.
More and more countries around the world are investing into interconnectors as they offer access and the opportunity to import a varied supply of clean energy when they need it, within a matter of minutes, as well allow them to export excess energy to neighbouring countries when they are in need. This flexibility is critical to deliver a reliable supply of energy, as the wider world transitions towards net zero and an energy system predominantly focused on renewable power. All this leads us into the second part of the summit which will explore the utilisation of BESS (Battery energy storage) units to aide in meeting 2050 net zero targets, as we transition into a multi-purpose interconnection of various offshore/onshore energy solutions. Furthermore, with the move towards electrification of the transportation industry, alongside hydrogen, battery capacity across the UK & EU is set to boom.
By 2030, experts state that interconnectors will have helped the UK to avoid around 100 million tonnes of carbon emissions – equivalent to taking two-million petrol cars off the road. EU Commission have ambitious targets for installed capacity of at least 60 GW of offshore wind and 1 GW of ocean energy by 2030, and 300 GW and 40 GW, respectively, by 2050. Many companies across Europe and the wider world have been gearing up for the increased investment into this sector as interconnectors futureproof our energy system, by ensuring that increasingly large volumes of renewable energy can connect to the grid at scale. Already the UK has the largest installed capacity of offshore wind in the world, with around 10GW in operation in the North Sea. The Government has set an ambitious target to deploy four times more offshore wind (40GW) by 2030. The revised Renewable Energy Directive, adopted in 2023 has also set an EU target for renewables of at least 42.5%, which will require that the installed wind capacity grows to more than 500 GW by 2030. All this means that the supply chain companies are responding to the ambitious demands of the evolving net-zero targets and legislation and thus the wider needs for HVDC and multi-purpose interconnectors. Take away from 2023 is the sheer volume of tenders and frameworks that were announced and/or awarded throughout the year. Worldwide, this included at least 46 new HVDC projects to be installed over the next decade, equating to a 94.3 GW addition of HVDC transmission capacity, and at least 18.000 km of HVDC cable.
Why Attend
What differentiates us from competitor platforms is that we are hosting a training platform with the sole purpose of learning from each other in an ever challenging and dynamic environment. There will be lots of case study examples of challenges encountered and strategies deployed in the face of obstacles with planning/permitting and consent, seabed surveys, domestic & international regulations regarding HVDC cables, impact assessment, planning and so forth. Attendees will find themselves engaged on critically current issues, which affect their day-to-day duties at work.
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