North Sea region energy system towards 2050: integrated offshore grid and sector coupling drive offshore wind power installations

Abstract. This paper analyses several energy system scenarios towards 2050 for the North Sea region. With a focus on offshore wind power, the impacts of meshed offshore grid and sector coupling are studied. First, a project-based scenario, where each offshore wind power plant is connected individually to the onshore power system, is compared to a meshed grid scenario. Both the amount of offshore wind power installed and the level of curtailment are assessed. Then, these results are compared to a scenario with sector coupling included. The results show that while the introduction of a meshed grid can increase the amount of offshore wind power installed towards 2050, sector coupling is expected to be a more important driver for increasing offshore wind power installations. In addition, sector coupling can significantly decrease the level of offshore wind curtailment.