ESO recommends network design for 4.5 GW of Celtic Sea floating wind

National Grid ESO, the electricity system operator for Great Britain, on Tuesday published its recommended design to connect up to 4.5 GW of floating offshore wind capacity in the Celtic Sea.

The proposal aims to help connect the three 1.5-GW project development areas that will be awarded by The Crown Estate’s Celtic Sea Floating Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5.

ESO’s director of strategic energy planning and chief engineer, Julian Leslie, said that “this is the first time an offshore wind leasing round will have been launched with a recommended high-level network design in place.”

The recommended design, outlined in the Beyond 2030: Celtic Sea report, provides for two connections to South Wales and one to the South West of England. It envisages one high voltage direct current (HVDC) connection into a potential new South Wales Connection Node, and two connections using high voltage alternating current (HVAC) technology into Carmarthenshire and North Devon.

The Celtic Sea design represents a new approach by the ESO as developers have yet to bid for the three areas in the leasing round. This enables developers to make a more informed bid based on the network recommendations, the ESO said. It also allows the ESO to ringfence the 4.5 GW in advance and proceed with the connection contract process once the seabed Agreements for Lease are awarded by The Crown Estate.

The ESO said it will work with the host transmission owner, National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) in England and Wales, while progressing into the detailed network design stage.

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