Airtricity has announced the creation of a pan European subsea energy grid, called Supergrid, which will link a series of offshore wind farms from the Mediterranean to the Bay of Biscay, Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic Sea.
The Supergrid is designed for two uses: carrying energy generated by wind turbines to suppliers and acting as a transmission network to deliver electricity around Europe, making its power markets more efficient at energy trading. Airtricity and ABB, began work on the Supergrid in September 2005 with the aim of designing a high-voltage AC/DC power network to link national grids and deliver power from offshore wind farms. The scale of this undertaking means that when fully operational Europe will have access to wind energy at all times because the wind will always be blowing somewhere on the grid. The Supergrid offers a unique opportunity to Member States to improve their security of energy supply. The power generated will be a common European rather than a national asset.
