The European Union is considering plans for a transnational power grid that would use renewable energy sources to provide power to an estimated 70 million homes. The proposed 3,850 mile offshore grid would connect more than 100 wind farms, containing 10,000 turbines, to seven North Sea countries - Britain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway. A senior European Council official said the grid, which would cost an estimated $28.5 billion, would help the European Union achieve its ambitious renewable energies goal. The EU is committed to what it calls the “20/20/20 package,” cutting greenhouse gases by 20%, producing 20% of primary energy from renewables and reducing energy consumption by 20%.

A major drawback to large scale reliance on wind power has been the variability of wind speeds. According to the proposal for the transnational grid, the power output of the estimated 118 wind farms could be stabilized within an integrated grid and supplemented by Scandinavian hydropower that can be easily switched on. “The grid would enable the efficient large-scale integration of renewable energy in the power system across the whole North Sea region,” said Frauke Thies, a Greenpeace campaigner. “A dip in wind power in one area could be ‘balanced’ by higher production in another area, even hundreds of kilometres away.”

sources: The Guardian, Reuters