Wind Energy Planning

Irish Offshore Wind Energy Stifled By Lack of Grid

Irish transmission system operator – Eirgrid has announced that it is looking into possible solutions to allow offshore wind energy projects to connect to the electricity grid. Wind energy projects off the coast of Ireland are currently stalled because of a lack of grid infrastructure. One solution mooted is a north to south cable running under the sea bed.

Improving the UK Grid for Renewable Energy

Access to the grid network is currently one of the key constraints for increased wind energy development in the UK. Our existing electricity grid network is optimised for traditional (centralised) generation. One of the key questions currently being debated is- how grid upgrades for renewable energy projects are going to be funded.

In the UK renewable energy generators pay to connect and use the grid network as part of an “invest and use” strategy currently operated by National Grid Company (NGC) and more local distribution network operators (DNO’s). This incremental strategy will not however be sufficient in the long term and there has been much debate recently as to how we can maximise the use of capacity left in the existing grid network through using technologies such as smart grid, whilst at the same time kicking off the development of new grid infrastructure.