Northern Seas Offshore Network (NSON): Challenges and its way forward

Serving a twofold purpose, integrated offshore grids can facilitate the connection of offshore wind generation with onshore networks as well as the interconnection of asynchronous market areas for power trade. With a growing amount of offshore wind generation being deployed in Northern Europe, the relevance of a North Seas Offshore Network (NSON) increases, particularly in light of high cross-sectoral decarbonisation targets. To investigate future deployments of offshore grids in the North Seas, the national NSON project in Germany developed a closely linked modelling chain involving several stages: market- and technology-based grid planning, offshore grid validation, and onshore grid repercussions. Following an introduction to the NSON Initiative, a comprehensive overview of the modelling stages is given. Important subjects for further research which could be identified while working on the NSON-DE project are discussed afterwards. Main issues include flexibility and uncertainty in future energy systems, market integration, cost-benefit sharing, as well as robust grid planning and enhanced grid operation methods, especially for combined AC/DC-networks.