Offshore wind farms connected to an underwater power grid for transmission could revolutionize the East Coast's power supply

Offshore winds have the potential to offer coasts with massive, constant supplies of fresh electricityAccording to a study, wind farms directly off the coast 11 times the anticipated global electricity demand in 2040.

The east coast of the USA is a really perfect location to make use of this energy, but there’s an issue: the electricity from the offshore wind farms should be transported to the cities and communities that need it.

Although everyone wants a reliable power supply for his or her homes and businesses, few support the development of the transmission lines needed to offer it. This has at all times been an issue, each within the USA And internationalbut it surely is becoming an excellent greater challenge as countries Speed ​​towards CO2-neutral energy systems that uses more electricity.

The U.S. Department of Energy and 10 states within the Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission are working on a potentially groundbreaking solution: plans for a Offshore power grid.

The heart of this network can be the primary transmission lines off the east coast, from North Carolina to Maine, where dozens of offshore wind projects are already being planned.

The plans envisage that the project will generate not less than 85 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2050 – almost as much as US goal of 110 GW installed wind power by mid-century, enough to power 40 million homes, and greater than the 0.2 GW today. The Northeast States Collaborative formalized its goals in July 2024 through a multistate Memorandum of Understanding.

Current research from the Energy Authoritythe research company Brattle And other groups points out that an offshore electricity grid could mitigate the primary challenges of constructing recent onshore transmission lines and reduce the prices of offshore wind energy.

Cost reduction can be welcome news – costs for offshore wind projects increased as much as 50 % from 2021 to 2023. While a number of the underlying causes have subsided, like inflation And Disruptions in the worldwide supply chain, Interest rates remain highand the industry remains to be trying to realize a foothold within the US

What is an offshore power grid?

Today’s offshore wind projects use a Point-to-point or radial designwherein each offshore wind farm is individually connected to the onshore power grid.

This method works when there are few projects in a region, but it surely quickly becomes dearer as a result of cabling and other infrastructure. The lines also disrupt populations and marine life. And it requires more costly grid upgrades on land.

Many of those costs will be avoided through coordinated offshore transmission, with what the Department of Energy “mesh” or “backbone” designs.

Instead of individual connections to the mainland, many offshore wind farms can be connected to a typical transmission line that will be linked to the mainland grid via strategically placed “interconnection points.” This way, the electricity generated by an offshore wind farm might be transmitted to wherever it’s most needed on the east coast.

Even higher, electricity generated on land is also transported via these shared lines to bring energy to where it is required. This could improve the resilience of the electricity grids and reduce the necessity for brand spanking new transmission lines over land, which have to this point notoriously difficult to acquire approval forespecially on the East Coast.

The coordinated offshore transfer was part early US discussions on the planning and development of offshore wind turbines. In the late 2000s, when Google and partners initially proposed The Atlantic Wind Connection, an offshore transmission projectthe advantages of each offshore renewables and the energy system as a complete were fascinating. At that point, the United States had just one large-scale offshore wind project within the pipeline, and it ultimately failed.

Today, the United States 53 GW offshore wind projects planned or developed. energy Researchers, We consider Coordinated offshore transmission is significant for the success of the industry on a big scale.

Offshore grid could get monetary savings and reduce environmental impact

By allowing energy from offshore wind farms and onshore generators to be transported to more places, coordinated transmission can improve grid reliability and be certain that energy gets to where it is required most, reducing the necessity for dearer and infrequently more environmentally damaging power plants.

A 2024 Report from the National Renewable Energy Lab found that the advantages of a coordinated design outweigh the prices almost thrice in comparison with an ordinary point-to-point design.

Studies from Europe, the UK And Brattle have pointed to other advantages, including reducing planet-warming CO2 emissions, reducing the variety of Beach crossings by a 3rd and the required kilometers of transmission cables by 35 to 60 percent.

In the United States, offshore transmission lines would run almost exclusively through federal waters, which might avoid most of the conflicts related to onshore projects, although challenges would still arise.

Challenges and next steps

Building an offshore grid would require some vital changes.

First, government incentives have to be modified. The government investment tax allowance for offshore wind, which covers not less than 30% of the initial capital costs of a project, doesn’t currently help with financing coordinated gear designs.

Second, the needs of all parties should be taken under consideration from the outset of the planning process. While the general advantages of coordinated gear designs exceed the full costsWho gets the advantages and who bears the prices is significant. For example, dearer electricity producers could earn less, and a few Communities feel threatened by offshore development.

Third, higher coordination between all parties is required to route electricity to and from the regional grids. The recent Order 1920which requires electricity suppliers to plan their future needs may function a blueprint, but it surely doesn’t apply to interregional projects, corresponding to an offshore transmission network connecting over a dozen countries in three regions.

The United States reached a significant milestone in March 2024 with the completion of South Fork Wind, the country's largest wind farm. first large-scale wind farmbringing the U.S. offshore wind capability to just about 200 megawatts. Eight more projects are under construction or approved for construction. Once accomplished, they might increase installed capability to over 13 gigawattsin regards to the same as three dozen coal-fired power plants.

An offshore transmission grid could support the expansion of offshore wind energy and meet the energy needs of the East Coast for generations.

This article was updated on 31 July 2024 to make clear that the States have formalised the Memorandum of Understanding.