UK and Netherlands to build new North Sea power link
Reconnecting
As the leaders and ministers of nine northern European countries meet in Belgium’s Ostend to talk wind power today, the UK and the Netherlands will announce a new electricity link as part of efforts to boost green energy, writes Laura Dubois.
Context: European countries want to accelerate the rollout of green energy following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Moscow cutting off most of its gas supplies to Europe. At a previous wind power summit last year, four countries pledged to produce 65 gigawatt of offshore wind power by 2030 and 150 gigawatt by 2050.
The second edition of the summit will focus on how to increase wind power capacity, Belgian premier Alexander De Croo told journalists last week. “This is not a commitment summit. It’s an action summit,” De Croo said.
Part of that is the new interconnector. The undersea cable dubbed “Lion Link” is to connect the UK and the Netherlands to a Dutch wind farm from the early 2030s onwards and will carry 1.8 gigawatts of energy, according to statements by the two governments.
The planned investment for the connector is €1bn, a person familiar with the talks said.
“This new connection further boosts energy security and energy independence in Europe,” said Dutch energy minister Rob Jetten. It would supply electricity “enough to power 2mn households,” he added.
“We are bolstering our energy security and sending a strong signal to Putin’s Russia that the days of his dominance over global power markets are well and truly over,” said UK energy security secretary Grant Shapps.
The UK already has eight interconnectors with European countries, including the Netherlands, with six more approved by UK regulator Ofgem to be built over the next two years.
Aside from the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK, the summit will be attended by leaders and ministers from Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Luxembourg, France and Norway as well as the EU Commission.
As more countries are taking part than last year, the pledges will rise to 120 gigawatts in 2030 and a minimum of 300 gigawatts in 2050, according to a document seen by the FT.
Representatives from the offshore renewable industry, meanwhile, called for additional investments by governments and the EU to reach the targets.
“Our industry is not large enough today to deliver the nine governments’ commitments and meet the rising demand for renewable electricity and renewable hydrogen,” some 100 companies and organisations wrote in a joint declaration.