UK and Denmark are contemplating and studying options to construct a connector power cable between them to facilitate the import and export of the renewable wind energy that they both generate so as to increase market competition.
This is according to a Monday report given by the countries’ grid operators. An initial interconnector study will be published by Denmark’s Energinet.dk and Britain’s National Grid by the end of 2012.
The study report highlights details of potential landing points, overall capacity, and possibility of cable integration into a North Sea super grid connecting offshore wind power. Among the main objectives stipulated is the capacity to manage the instant flow of intermittent renewable energy and to regulate the electricity supply between regions that generate excess power and those that have shortages. This could as well lead to smoothed out price differences.
Together, Britain and Denmark hold over 10% of European Union’s installed onshore and offshore wind power capacity at levels exceeding 10 gigawatts. Torben Glar Nielsen, Energinet.dk’s electricity division executive vice president, stated that both countries were projecting to create this power integration to cater for such high amounts of wind power. Both countries are ambitious in increasing their renewable energy production targets.
By 2020, both Denmark and Britain have aimed to have their generation capacity increased so as to alleviate the burden of electricity consumption from conventional sources. For instance, the UK targets is estimated to have 15% of its energy coming from renewable resources. Denmark, on the other hand, aims to retrieve 50% of its overall electricity consumption from renewable energy sources.
Both countries have also been planning on extending their network to neighboring countries. For example, Britain has plans to connect Belgium and Norway and to step up its power capacity to Ireland and France. Denmark, on the other hand, is building a new link to Norway as well as studying interconnecting to the Netherlands.
