MEDOW Looks To Develop A European Wind ‘Super Grid’
Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.
A group of EU-funded researchers are investigating the development of a pan-European “super grid” specifically designed to transfer wind-generated electricity across EU Member States.
According to the European Commission, such a project would “bring more renewable energy into homes and businesses, help reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and enable Europe to move closer towards achieving energy independence.”
The project, Multi-terminal DC grid for offshore wind, or MEDOW, is a Marie Curie Initial Training Network consisting of 5 universities and 6 industrial organisations, with collective experience covering manufacturing, design, operation, and control of multi-terminal DC grids.
MEDOW intends to develop the idea of a DC grid for transmitting and sharing wind power, rather than single point-to-point connections, which they believe will “reinforce reliability and help balance power supply and demand.”
The concept stems from the need to better transfer power from offshore wind farms, an increasingly frequent location for wind power which needs a more efficient method of electricity transfer. The project, which began in 2013 and will run through to 2017, is investigating the newly emerging technology of a DC grid, studying operational issues such as DC power flow, DC relaying protection, and dynamic stability.
A pan-European energy network is no new thing, though specifying the type of energy generation pumped through the grid is a new wrinkle. The idea of a European Energy Union has been passed around several times over the past year, with researchers and organisations across the Union pushing for the idea of an EU-wide energy network.
Early in December, the International Energy Agency commended Europe on its low-carbon leadership, but noted that there is still “much room for improvement.”
“As member states adopt different energy policy choices and decarbonisation pathways towards 2030, a strong ‘Energy Union’ is needed to achieve the EU 2030 goals,” said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven. “But let’s be clear: such a union should not represent a buyer’s cartel. Rather, it should feature an integrated energy market and effective climate and energy policies.”
MEDOW’s research into a pan-European wind energy grid could help push development of this mythological Energy Union, but the political willpower needed for such endeavours will need to spring up in Member States across the Union.
Sign up for CleanTechnica's Weekly Substack for Zach and Scott's in-depth analyses and high level summaries, sign up for our daily newsletter, and follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Sign up for our daily newsletter for 15 new cleantech stories a day. Or sign up for our weekly one on top stories of the week if daily is too frequent.
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
CleanTechnica's Comment Policy
