Posters

Abstract

Offshore windgenerationwill playa vital role in the decarbonisation of Europe’senergy system.Theindustry is projected tosee an18-foldincreasefrom25GWin 2021to450GW by 2050. As the cost of offshore wind has declined, the shareof the costofthetransmissionassethas increased.Transmission now represents as much as30% of the total project cost.As more offshore wind is built,the availability of nearshore sites will tighten. Thismakesventuring furtheroffshoremore attractive combinedwithhigheraverage wind speeds.Thisrequiresthe addedcost and complexityof transmittingthe power generatedoverlonger distances. SuperNode, The University of Strathclyde and Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult conducted Cost Based Analyses (CBAs) to assess the feasibility ofHigh Temperature SuperconductingMedium Voltage Direct Current(HTSMVDC) cables for offshore power transmission compared with conventional 525kV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology. The offshore wind farm modelled for each cabling technology is rated at 2GW and assumed to be 100km from the onshore connection point, with 2km spacing between each turbine at an initial water depth of 40m. The CBA results show the lifecycle cost of a HTS MVDC system being cheaper than 525kV HVDCacross allconsidered categories.Examining the capital costs of the cablesalone, HTS cables are moreexpensivethan HVDC. However, efficiencies in the size and complexities of an offshore platform for the HTS MVDC systemmean the entire project cost is lower.