Greenpeace proposes giant North Sea windfarm grid

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – North Sea nations could link their offshore windfarms via a giant electricity grid on the sea bed and bring huge benefits for Europe, according to a Greenpeace report gaining interest from the European Commission.

The environment group said on Wednesday the grid would build on existing infrastructure to link tens of thousands of turbines located offshore, helping to smooth out power fluctuations caused by turbulent weather around the stormy North Sea.

“A dip in wind power generation in one area could be balanced by higher production in another area, even hundreds of kilometers away, providing clean power for millions of European homes,” said Frauke Thies, Greenpeace EU renewables campaigner.

The grid of huge power cables on the sea bed would cost up to 20 billion euros ($29 billion) but they could be used to trade power between North Sea nations, earning a swift payback.

The European Commission’s head of renewable energy Hans Van Steen called the project “ambitious but realistic.”

Reuters