UK regulators have given the green light to plans for a 400-mile subsea power cable linking Scotland and Norway. Ofgem announced it had granted an electricity interconnector licence to Scandinavian consortium NorthConnect. The developers plan to build a £1.3bn power cable between Boddam in Aberdeenshire and Eidfjord in Norway. The project aims to link hydro power from Norway with wind energy from Scotland. It is scheduled to start operating from 2022. NorthConnect have said that the cable will have a capacity of 1.4GW – about 25% of Scottish peak demand. Responding to the Ofgem announcement, WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said: “If the UK and the rest of Europe are to move to a 100% renewable future then greater use of interconnectors is a sensible way forward. Sharing different renewable resources between nations would help drive down climate emissions much faster than relying on domestic action alone. However, it shouldn’t be an excuse for any country to halt the development of their own renewable capacity. A European-wide ‘supergrid’ would also bring the double benefits of security of supply and a reduced need to build lots of expensive new nuclear or fossil fuel power stations.”
BBC 22nd June 2016 read more »
STV 22nd June 2016 read more »
Business Green 22nd June 2016 read more »
A SUBSEA cable to export Scottish wind power to Norway will cost the country jobs and investment, the head of a renewables firm has claimed. Regulator Ofgem has approved a licence for the construction of a 400-mile underwater power cable linking Scotland and Norway. The £1.3 billion project will see wind power generated in Scotland sent to Eidfjord in Norway, with hydro energy from that country received in Boddam, Aberdeenshire. Developers hope the link will be operational by 2022 with connections eventually developed to Iceland. However, Rod Wood, managing director of Community Windpower, claims Westminster policy means “Scotland will lose out” on jobs and income because of the project – by buying in renewables from overseas instead of supporting the growth of the homegrown sector. It has been argued that the scheme could help plug gaps in provision when Scottish renewables are running low, such as times of high demand or low wind. However, Wood said: “It is a very expensive solution in terms of putting a subsea cable through the North Sea in a very aggressive environment. The real solution is looking at renewables storage.” Wood’s plan involves installing lithium ion batteries at the under-construction Aikengall II wind farm in East Lothian. At 19 turbines, the development is an extension of the existing Aikengall wind farm near Dunbar and will be capable of generating 60 megawatts of electricity. If approved, the storage plan will see lithium ion batteries – the same as those used by green car firm Tesla Motors – capable of holding 12mw housed in on-site containers.
The National 23rd June 2016 read more »