Swedish energy group Vattenfall has moved to spearhead adoption of high voltage direct current (HVDC) export lines for future mega-scale offshore wind farms off the UK, with plans to use the next-generation transmission cables to connect its Vanguard and Boreas projects to the UK grid.
The strategic decision to back 66kV technology on the two 1.8GW projects, located in the North Sea off Norfolk, stems from a belief that HVDC “will be cost competitive with high voltage alternating current (HVAC) technology” due to lower losses of electricity during transmission, lessened environmental impact due to fewer cables linking offshore project to shore, and “innovation leading to lowered costs on substations”.
