The Russian invasion of Ukraine has fuelled the urgency of energy transition ambitions. For the UK and EU, offshore wind turbines could propel their advances – but only if grid innovation keeps pace.
The UK wants to generate 40GW of offshore wind by 2030. The recent ScotWind seabed leasing round awarded a record-breaking 25GW of potential projects, enough to power about 1.5 million homes, setting the country on a path to meeting this target. The EU is targeting at least 60GW by 2030 and 300GW by 2050.
But while offshore wind technology costs are falling rapidly, grid innovation must keep up, or we risk missing these targets. Studies show that when offshore wind power assets are built at the scale planned, single point-to-point connections from offshore wind farms to the onshore grid (as is currently standard) will be inefficient, more expensive, and less environmentally friendly.