By Tim Probert, Power Engineering International
16 March 2010 - Offshore wind farm subsidies underwritten by British electricity bill payers will be paid to generators even if the electricity is transmitted outside the UK via a North Sea 'supergrid', the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has confirmed.
The UK plans to build 32 GW of offshore wind power around its coast by 2020 in a GBP100bn ($151bn) drive to hit ambitious European Union renewable energy targets. The cost of the wind farms will be largely covered by the UK government's Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) subsidy scheme, which is paid for by a levy on end-users' electricity bills.
Under existing ROC arrangements, offshore wind farm operators would be justified in pocketing the offshore wind farm subsidy, which is worth GBP74.38 per megawatt-hour for 2009/10, and then selling the power outside the UK via a North Sea ’supergrid’. This situation could mean that British bill payers indirectly subsidize other European nations' power supplies.
A DECC spokesperson said: "All offshore wind electricity generated in UK waters is eligible for ROCs, as long as the wind farm is directly connected to the UK grid."
A North Sea 'supergrid' would not only directly connect offshore wind farms with the UK grid, but also a number of other European nations. Last December, nine countries signed a European Commission proposal to create such a 'supergrid': Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK.
Earlier this month, ten power industry firms including Siemens, Areva T&D and Prysmian, launched 'Friends of the Supergrid' in an effort to build a European offshore grid focused on the North Sea. Proponents of an offshore 'supergrid' aim to facilitate the trading of offshore wind power with Europe via a series of 'supernodes' - offshore converter stations interconnecting North Sea wind farms and the European mainland via subsea cables.
The DECC spokesperson said while a 'supergrid' was hypothetical at present, existing ROC arrangements could be reviewed.
