Seven European transmission system operators (TSOs) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the launch of Eurobar, an initiative to interconnect offshore wind platforms across Europe. Eurobar aims to efficiently and securely integrate offshore wind power into the European power grid, starting from current regulation and projects (e.g. point-to-point connections) and prospectively evolving to an interlinked offshore network or "busbar alike system."
The concept is modular and is designed to be implemented autonomously by international partners. For that, international standardization of interfaces and technology is key.
Offshore wind energy plays a key role in the European Union's goal of climate neutrality. The EU Commission projects a capacity of up to 300 GW of installed wind power by 2050 to reach the Paris agreement's climate goal. European TSOs have already shown a shared commitment to sustainable and reliable integration of offshore wind energy.
Eurobar aims to support Europe and its TSOs in the secure and efficient connection of offshore wind farms by striving for standardization of interfaces and technology, reducing the environmental impact, and interconnecting offshore wind clusters. The initiative's mission is to develop and implement a joint approach for offshore infrastructure systems connecting the future offshore capacities to Europe's transmission system. Moreover, it follows the idea that interfaces will be standardized for the upcoming generation of offshore connection technologies, making them “offshore grid ready.” The parties highlight that these measures can be taken step-by-step and will be implemented when economically sound and technically needed.
“Eurobar makes a constructive contribution to European plans for offshore development,” said Dr Hans-Jürgen Brick, the CEO of Amprion. “It is a multinational framework for existing ideas, which need to be connected and translated into sustainable and innovative projects. Cooperation and exchange are key to the success of our initiative, therefore it is and remains permanently open to interested new parties."
