Offshore staff
LONDON – The Carbon Trust has initiated a new Integrator (research) program concerning offshore wind, with the support of six major offshore wind farm developers.
EnBW, Equinor, RWE, ScottishPower Renewables, Total, and Vattenfall will collaborate on various projects over the coming year.
The UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s latest energy generation cost predictions suggest that the levelized cost of energy of offshore wind will continues to decrease out to 2035, but with system integration costs comprising an increasingly significant part of the total cost of offshore wind.
However, technology innovation could help bring down integration costs. For example, offshore wind farms could provide grid services to support voltage or frequency control, making offshore wind output more predictable through use of co-located storage technology.
Another possibility is use of offshore wind to convert energy into green fuels through electrolysis.
The Integrator will examine the relationship between offshore wind, existing infrastructure, and other technologies and developments to determine opportunities for investments in innovation.
Two initial studies will focus on defining market factors that impact use and integration of offshore wind energy, and the key technologies that could maximize opportunities for offshore wind energy use and integration.
12/03/2020
