Bornholm energy island project – Technical requirements to improve multivendor multi-terminal HVDC interoperability for Energy Islands

To reach the goals of the Paris agreement, new approaches to integrating untapped renewable energy into the European grid are needed. With a view to access the unused wind potential in the North and Baltic Seas, the Danish Parliament decided in June 2020 to establish two energy islands in Denmark by 2030. These energy islands, one in the North Sea and one in the Baltic Sea, are intended to act as hubs for the integration of offshore wind in Danish waters with neighboring countries.

These energy islands can provide a new approach to integrating renewable resources by pooling the power from multiple offshore wind farms and feeding it directly to several countries, while also serving as interconnectors between those country’s electricity markets. This arrangement represents a change from the previous philosophy of building isolated offshore wind farms with a radial power connection to one country only. The Danish and German governments have subsequently signed a political agreement to establish a Joint Working Group of both countries to assess the options for a possible cooperation on hybrid offshore projects in the Baltic Sea.

Bornholm Energy Island (BEI) is planned to be established in the Baltic Sea by 2030. In a first step, BEI will consist of two wind farm areas (with a total of 3 GW offshore wind capacity) located in Rønne Banke radially connected to Bornholm and interconnectors from Bornholm to Zealand and to one or more other countries. The BEI project is different from traditional interconnector projects partly because the development of BEI is politically identified and partly because the implementation period is very short compared to traditional TSO projects. There is less than 10 years before the deadline for construction projects with large and complex electricity transmission systems, island constructions or offshore platforms, interconnectors, and offshore wind farms in GW sizes. Altogether, it will, with distance, become the largest infrastructure project in Danish history.

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