Page 14: of Marine Technology Magazine (January 2018)

Finance: Renewables

Roadmap for Renewable Energy

By Jessica Williams

Thanks to increasing levels of debt City, located on Long Island. The island and offshore wind resources to England ? nancing for climate-aligned projects, faces signi? cant challenges meeting its and Wales using undersea and under- wind-generated power has become one substantial electricity demands due to ground cables. of the fastest-growing green industries. legacy issues of gas and electric trans- Similar to the Cross Sound Cable, the

Jessica Williams, an Infrastructure Ana- mission constraints, as well as limited Western Link is also bi-directional. This lyst at S&P Global Ratings, considers geographical access to renewable alter- means that, while these cables enable the submarine technologies that are natives (such as solar or wind). None- certain areas to bene? t from excess re- making this progress possible. Renew- theless, New York State has made re- newable power generated elsewhere, able energy is making an increasing newable development a primary policy electricity can also ? ow in the opposite contribution to the electrical grid. By goal under its Clean Energy Standard – direction, according to electricity sup- the end of 2016, “green energy” sources which mandates that 50% of its electric- ply and demand requirements. In turn, accounted for almost a quarter of the ity originates from renewable sources this promotes grid stability at both ends world’s electricity supply, according to by 2030. – and the longevity of the cable. In Ger-

REN21. So, although the target is ambitious, many, the transmission system operator

Wind power has contributed signi? - New York State’s carbon reduction (TSO) TenneT Holding B.V (TenneT), cantly to this shift and is second only goals are ? exible enough to incorporate has raised €1 billion of green bonds to to hydropower in terms of renewable green energy transmitted from else- ? nance transmission lines connecting capacity. And largely thanks to de- where. This is particularly signi? cant offshore wind projects in the North Sea carbonization efforts worldwide, wind for Long Island, which bene? ts from the to the German grid. Indeed, an increas- energy’s market penetration is increas- Cross Sound Cable, an undersea trans- ing number of projects in the North Sea ing; the Global Wind Energy Council mission line that transmits excess clean are contributing to impressive European (GWEC) estimates global capacity will electricity across Long Island Sound wind power growth; according to Win- reach 817 gigawatts (GW) by 2021, a from renewable-rich New England. dEurope, the region enjoyed a record 68% increase from 2016. In addition to its vast hydrologic and year in 2017, adding 14GW to the re-

A strong pipeline of technologies is wind resources, New England has its newables grid.

driving this growth. As the technologies own state-level carbon reduction poli- In the Asia Paci? c area, too, a substan- improve, this pushes down costs, mak- cies that date back over a decade. The tial proposal is underway. The Asian ing wind energy more viable. For ex- Cross Sound Cable can transmit 330 Renewable Energy Hub encompasses ample, enhanced technology allows for MW of hydrologic and wind power 7,000 square kilometers of land in the bigger wind turbines and foundations, originating in New England to Long Is- East Pilbara region of Western Austra- which increases manufacturing and pro- land, which equates to substantial car- lia, and is set to house both solar and duction ef? ciency. Taking advantage of bon savings on par with about 600MW wind power generation facilities for the these ef? ciency gains, undersea cables of wind capacity. purpose of transmitting the energy pro- are thereby addressing the challenges of Ultimately, this not only provides Long duced to South East Asia. inconsistent supply and demand; they Island with enhanced grid stability but it The Asian Renewable Energy Hub enable power generated offshore – or in also provides a use for New England’s entails the construction of 1,200 300m- remote geographical locations – to be excess wind energy. high onshore wind turbines, with a fur- transmitted to the urban areas that need ther 2400MW from solar panels – all of it most. Transmissions Overseas which will be exported via high voltage

In Europe, comparable projects are un- undersea transmission cables to Jakarta

The Geography of Renewables derway. For example, the Western Link and Singapore. The project will generate

Take the state of New York, for exam- initiative – a £1 billion project located in power for 7 million homes in Indonesia, ple, which has four densely populated the U.K. – will transmit electricity gen- and will offset almost 1 billion tons of counties, two that are part of New York erated by Scotland’s abundant onshore carbon emissions over its lifetime.

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