The UK electricity system operator ESO has published a report proposing £58bn of grid investment to move offshore wind power ‘to where it is needed’ and meet the nation’s growing demand for electricity by 2035.
The report outlines a plan to connect a further 21 GW of offshore wind in development off the coast of Scotland to the grid in ‘an efficient and coordinated way’. According to ESO: ‘In total there will be over 30 GW of offshore wind in Scottish waters compared to 6 GW of peak electricity demand in Scotland in 2035. The plan moves that power to where it can be used – both around Scotland and across Britain.’
ESO reports that its plan enables ‘a fully decarbonised electricity system by 2035, in line with the Sixth Carbon Budget’. It also believes the plan could create and sustain over 20,000 jobs annually, with 90% of the benefits occurring outside London and the South East, according to independent research.
However, the report stresses the need for ‘swift and coordinated action across the energy sector, government, the regulator and communities’ to achieve this.
The report also recommends an expansion of the offshore grid and a new north-to-south electrical spine, potentially from Peterhead, Aberdeenshire to Merseyside, to carry green energy from offshore wind farms in development off the coast of Scotland to homes and businesses across Scotland and northern England. It notes, however, that this is ‘an early-stage option which will require further consideration and consultation’.
ESO also recommended further ‘offshore bootstraps’ along the east coast of Britain. ‘By 2035, the country will have one of the most expansive and coordinated offshore grids in the world, with three times more undersea cabling than onshore,’ it says.
Extracted from EI website, read more here