Deploying marine renewable energy in the EU A Celtic perspective on interconnection Adam Bruce Global Head of Corporate Affairs, Mainstream Renewable Power Chairman, BWEA

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Deploying marine renewable energy in the EUA
Celtic perspective on interconnectionAdam
BruceGlobal Head of Corporate Affairs,
Mainstream Renewable PowerChairman, BWEA
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The last EU Energy crunch

• 1970s oil shock
• Europes answer North Sea oil and gas or
  Nuclear

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Today...
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Security of Supply Sources of Natural Gas 2010
Norway
Russia
Great Britain
3.000 km
Kazhakstan
2.000 km
Neitherlands
1.000 km
Deutschland
Ukraine
Uzbekistanstan
France
Romania
Azerbaijan
Turkeyenistan
Algeria
Libya
Egypt
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Security of Supply Sources of Natural Gas 2025
Norway
Russia
3.000 km
2.000 km
1.000 km
Turkeyenistan
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The challenge for today

• 2020s fossil fuel shock
• EU answer North Sea wind and marine energy
• Challenge for today how to build for that
  tomorrow

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Europes marine energy resource

• Richest resource in the world
• Sufficient to provide all of EUs electricity
  requirements
• Technically efficient and commercial competitive
  to exploit
• Predictable fuel cost
• Indigenous
• Independent of external political influences
• Clean

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Rising to the challenge

• Climate change large scale CO2 free generation
• Security of supply indigenous and sustainable
  energy source
• Economic competitiveness develop new EU energy
  market
• Marine energy will have to deliver most of the
  bulk renewable electricity required for 2020
• A solution Large-scale interconnected grid for
  marine renewables

The 2020 Imperative
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Offshore grids not new
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Interconnection
The value of an offshore grid...lies in its
contribution for increased security of supply,
its function for the aggregation of dispatch of
power from offshore wind farms, and in its role
as a facilitator for power exchange and trade
between regions and power systems. A North Sea
Electricity Grid Revolution 2007 Greenpeace-3E
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Interconnection the benefits
Source A North Sea Electricity Grid Revolution
2007 Greenpeace-3E
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Celtic Connections

• Irish, UK and Scottish governments all looking to
  increase renewable generation
• Existing interconnection at capacity
• New onshore grid underway
• But offshore connection required
• A Celtic-Nordic Connection?
• Offshore wind
• Wave Tidal
• Hydro

Source Imera / New Energy Focus
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Necessary pre-conditions for regional
effectiveness
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Challenges ahead

• The economics
• the accelerated development of an offshore grid
  will require a Europe wide support scheme (EU
  Grid Incentive)
• The technology
• VSC HVDC - very low electrical losses and meshed
  connections But - development work required to
  scale up VSC HVDC technology
• a common set of standards must be developed for
  connecting HVDC platforms (avoid VHS/Betamax)
• The regulation
• Create a European operator who will run (not own)
  the network interconnectors (The Airbus
  approach)

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Conclusion

• Celtic-Nordic-EU interconnection is Scotland's
  route to market for its renewable future
• and its safety net against fossil fuel
  volatility.