HVDC technology and grids for REPowerEU

The urgency of the clean energy transition towards the objectives of the European Green Deal has become even more pressing following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on 24 February 2022. The REPowerEU Communication published in March outlines the Commission’s plan to phase out our dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

The Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy (ORES) aims at the installation of 60 GW of offshore wind and at least 1 GW of ocean energy by 2030, with a view to reach 300 GW and 40 GW by 2050.

This wide RES deployment represents a paradigm shift for the European energy system and concurrently needs adequate innovative technologies to convey and integrate efficiently the RES energy generated into the grid.

High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) has the peculiarity of offering more than one benefit when integrated into our actual Alternating Current (AC) system:

- transport of electricity over long distances

- it can be integrated in complementarity with the AC system offering services to it 

- can counteract the instability of the grid following a high-RES penetration.

HVDC technology is indispensable for the wide RES deployment to happen as the AC grid will not cope any longer at a certain point with the high-RES penetration. If this specific need is not sighted, caught and applied now, the huge RES generation risks not being integrated into the grid and thwarting the efforts made with the wide deployment.

EC is perceiving the importance of the technology and has started engaging in supporting activities:

- From the ORES, a new Implementation Working Group (IWG) of the SET Plan on HVDC has been created;

- Calls on HVDC and DC Technologies started to appear since the last part of Horizon 2020 and now with more emphasis and number in Horizon Europe;

- Workshops, roundtables and meetings have started since 2016 and are ongoing on DC Technologies involving all voltage and application levels (transmission, distribution).

Additional documents:

• 220429 HVDC grounds.pdf