Supporting the North Sea Wind Power Hub

Challenge

The North Sea Wind Power Hub (NSWPH) consortium, consisting of Port of Rotterdam, TenneT, Gasunie, and Energinet, has joined forces to realize climate goals. The consortium aims to enable meeting the Paris Agreement by implementing a modular hub-and-spoke concept to connect and integrate large scale offshore wind energy into the energy systems of the North Sea countries. During the assessment phase, running between 2017-2019, the consortium had to define the energy system context towards 2050, define the hub-and-spoke concept, assess its techno-economic benefits, as well as consult and inform stakeholders, and clearly communicate the main conclusions drawn. 

Solution

As one of the consortium’s suppliers, the Guidehouse team developed scenarios to analyze and subsequently highlight the cost-reduction and societal value potential the hub-and-spoke concept could offer, in comparison to the current national and incremental approach to offshore wind farm connections and system integration. Guidehouse provided project management office services to enable efficient and effective operations and project control for the consortium. In addition, an ad hoc support agreement offered swift help with smaller questions. Guidehouse helped the consortium to draft a main storyline of the assessment phase and to present this in a series of concept papers with lively visuals. 

Impact

Guidehouse enabled the consortium to realize their goals for the assessment phase of assessing, staffing the project, and reaching out to stakeholders. Guidehouse developed robust offshore wind and system integration scenarios like the Translate COP21 scenario. Tailor-made cost models and assessment methodologies clearly highlighted the urgency and benefits of an international coordinated rollout vs. a national incremental rollout of offshore wind. Secondment of experienced project managers reinforced and elevated the project management office, including financial control, planning, and risk management. Guidehouse’s support in developing the concept papers allowed the consortium to present their findings, vision, and call for action to policymakers and the general public in a clear and comprehensible way.