Electrical, chemical or hybrid energy transmission: techno-economic optimisation of transmission options for UK offshore wind

The UK offshore wind industry requires accelerated transmission infrastructure investment and development to connect 50 GW by 2030. The novel methodology outlined in this paper addresses the identification of optimal landing points for new electrical transmission infrastructure and presents a techno-economic optimisation model of transmission options for offshore wind. The new methodology, quantifies technical installation challenges and environmental mitigation costs at landing point sites and maximises the return on investment for transmission options considering HVDC electricity and green hydrogen. The transmission options were compared and HVDC transmission for all landing points had a higher maximum return on investment (302.2%) compared to offshore green hydrogen transmitted in a subsea pipeline (166.6%). This indicates that HVDC transmission will provide a greater return on investment and that landing point identification is essential to deliver offshore wind.