National Grid Ventures, the commercial development arm of National Grid, and Dutch Transmission System Operator TenneT have announced a cooperation agreement to explore the feasibility of connecting Dutch and British offshore wind farms to the energy systems of both countries.
The announcement follows a recent decision by the Dutch government to future-proof the first far shore high voltage direct current (HVDC) 2GW offshore transmission grids in the Netherlands for the IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Zone, approximately 80km off the North-West coast. Under the terms of the cooperation agreement, TenneT and National Grid Ventures will explore the development of a multi-purpose interconnector (MPI) to simultaneously connect up to 4 gigawatts of British and Dutch offshore wind between the British and Dutch electricity systems, providing an additional two gigawatts of interconnection capacity between the countries. The two companies aim to have a “path-finder” project defined by the end of 2021 with a view to delivering an operational asset by 2029.
