Memorandum 77
Supplementary submission from E.On UK
CONNECTION OF
OFFSHORE RENEWABLES
"There are two streams of thought on the
development of an offshore network: connection of offshore wind
farms to the national grid on a point to point basis with the
bulk transmission of power to demand occurring onshore or a wider
offshore network itself capable of the bulk transmission of power
to demand.
Our view is that the point to point approach
can be made to work to accommodate clusters of projects in adjacent
locations. The competitive process of appointing an offshore transmission
licensee should identify the most efficient and cost effective
solution for bringing the offshore generation to shore for onward
transmission to the demand centres. This may require Ofgem to
allow investment in initially higher risk offshore network infrastructure
where offshore generation projects are seeking to connect in different
timescales. The key challenge with the point to point option,
in bringing offshore generation to the demand, will be to ensure
that investment in the onshore network to accommodate the additional
power flows is allowed and completed in a timely manner.
The case for the development of a wider offshore
transmission network has not been made in our view. Our initial
view is that the benefits of such a network have not yet been
proven and the cost may be prohibitive. However, whilst the key
challenge for the development of a national offshore network would
be to develop a coordinated design, the competitive appointment
process for the award of offshore transmission licences could
be evolved to meet this wider requirement."
April 2008
| 
