Climate and Energy Minister Rob Jetton and his British counterpart Grant Shabbs will announce the news this afternoon at the North Sea Summit in Ostend, Belgium.
North Sea is a supplier
This is the first time that a Dutch offshore wind farm has been directly connected to such a connection. The new direct current is generated by national grid operator TenneT and British National Grid.
Minister Jetten says of the project: “The North Sea will become the largest supplier of green electricity to the Netherlands and large parts of Europe. Close cooperation in offshore wind energy and connections between the North Sea countries are essential in this respect.”
According to Jetton, LionLink can supply almost 2 gigawatts of electricity to both countries: “enough to power 2 million homes”.
Energy independence
In addition, the new link aims to reduce CO2 emissions and increase energy independence in Europe. Security of power supply is enhanced by this proprietary connection.
The Minister of Climate and Energy explains: “For example, if there is a surplus of wind power, this can be immediately shared with countries with power shortages, and vice versa.”
Energy grid at sea
Connecting offshore wind farms via the first cross-border direct current cable of this scale is a new step towards an integrated offshore network in the North Sea.
The plan is for the Netherlands to have about 21 GW of offshore wind power by 2030.
