A chance to review the rather striking North Sea Wind Power Hub Programme, which has just emerged from Energinet, Gasunie and Tennet - and financed by the EU.
The report states that:
Europe needs 350GW of offshore wind and the North Sea will house approximately 70% of this capacity.
Hubs-and-spokes allow for 32GW more wind in the North Sea
The North Sea should be regarded as a renewable energy resource rather than just an electrical resource. In the basecase we find that 44% of the harvested energy is converted into hydrogen.
Increased offshore wind capacity enhances hydrogen self-sufficiency as it enables more European hydrogen production.
Offshore wind power is one of the large renewable energy sources (next to onshore wind and solar power) which are foreseen to ensure the green transition of the European Energy system and support the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
It reminds me of a similarly ambitious proposal when I was working in Scotland and in the 'Isles project', the wind industry in 2011 was looking at whether endless connections to shore were really the best way to get projects away, or whether it should be centralised, and whether hubs might be the solution.
There was even a high profile launch at Hampden Park, the National Stadium in Scotland.
Isles an expensive project which ultimately seems to have fizzled out but the hubs themselves were a not bad idea. Nobody was quite sure how they would work in practice and whether certain early mover developers may suffer delay and lose control before losing out.
I've detected remnants of it in various grid strategies, but certainly the project, as planned, never gained traction in Scotland. It's interesting to see this one similarly ambitious it is moved on in the last decade with hydrogen now integral to it.
One advantage of hydrogen is that it uses pipelines rather than cables. And given the fact that even a rudimentary knowledge of physics knows that electricity and water is a somewhat problematical mix.
If that could be avoided, it would remove some of the electrical grid, perhaps constraints, especially if some of the existing pipeline network out in the North Sea could be reconstituted in a circular manner
Financial modelling runs throughout the document, A hub and spoke model seems to emerge in which the, obviously, the hubs are put in place, and then spokes to the various zones and sites, emanate, uh, from them
A different regime prevails in the UK, and perhaps it's easier for Europe to think strategically. I'm sure our Grid will be watching most closely
Elections are looming here in the UK, and also now in France, then the EU itself. It's a time of flux, none of which is music to the ears of investors. They seek more long-term certainty than is likely in the European short-term, but this is, nevertheless, an important strategic concept.
The documents says that The North Sea Wind Power Hub works with Hubs and Spokes concepts to facilitate the integration of large amounts of offshore wind We'll see whether it gains more traction than did Isles, and whether the whether they gain the significant investments that the energy sector is likely to acquire going forwards.
Decommissioning costs can sometimes be allayed by reusing in a circular manner some of the infrastructure is already there.
Join with me and over 5000 sectoral professionals at the moderated focus group Offshore Wind and Hydrogen
