This webpage outlines a proposal from Airtricity for the development of a European Offshore Supergrid, bringing together the latest technology in wind generation and electricity transmission to provide a secure, sustainable and uninterrupted supply of electricity to EU member states. Airtricity is a leading international renewable energy company specialising in the development, construction and long-term ownership of onshore and offshore wind farms.

Europe faces the prospect of being caught in an ‘energy crunch’ within the next 20 years. The depletion of finite indigenous resources, political risk and increased global competition, in particular amongst the US, India and China, are factors which threaten Europe’s security of energy supply.

Europe has the world’s richest wind resources and advances in technology have made the process of converting wind to electricity more effective and commercially competitive. Airtricity’s vision is to harness this natural energy resource by creating a European Offshore Supergrid located in the seas of Northern, Western and Southern Europe.

By connecting and integrating geographically disperse wind farms across Europe, each experiencing a different phase of the region’s weather system, electricity is produced wherever the wind is blowing and transported to regions of demand, ensuring a reliable and predictable source of energy.

By providing interconnection between electricity systems, the Supergrid will automatically overcome the most significant barrier to establishing a single internal market for electricity, and thereby will create a more competitive electricity supply for Europe. The establishment of a functioning internal market in electricity is a necessary complement to the need for a single external energy policy for Europe, if it is to retain competitive energy supplies into the future and to avoid sliding into irreversible economic decline.

The first step in the Supergrid programme is the development of a 10GW* Foundation Project to prove both the concept of the Supergrid and the technologies to be employed. Located between the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, the 10GW Foundation Project will consist of around 2,000 wind turbines covering 3,000 km ² with a capacity of 5MW each, delivering output to all three countries.

The 10GW Foundation Project will have a capital cost of EUR2m/MW, with a grid cost of EUR2bn. The cost of power is estimated to be EUR77/MWhr in the first 25 years, and EUR48/MWhr for years 26 to 50. The Supergrid will have a capacity utilisation rate in excess of 70%, compared to about 40% for dedicated offshore wind farm connections.

In order to establish the Supergrid, the 10GW Foundation Project must be successfully delivered. It is necessary to gain support for the 10GW Foundation Project delivery at both European and national levels.

The national governments of the UK, Germany and the Netherlands should adopt the 10GW Foundation Project as a preferred mechanism to provide a significant contribution to environmental targets and security of energy supply, at an economic cost. An undertaking from the European Investment Bank to underwrite the debt is required to finance the project.

The 10GW Foundation Project is a very large project by any measure and it is not one that Airtricity seeks to accomplish alone. Given the political support described above, Airtricity proposes to establish a consortium of progressive companies in order to develop, finance and build the project. Airtricity proposes to lead this consortium.

*10GW is enough capacity to power over 8 million homes.