PPL, Belgium's Elia form offshore wind transmission team in New England

Pennsylvania-based energy provider PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) and Belgium’s Elia Group SA (EBR:ELI) intend to collaborate on the development, construction and operation of onshore transmission assets for offshore wind farms in the New England region of the US.

The two companies’ respective subsidiaries, PPL TransLink Inc and WindGrid, have entered into a memorandum of understanding that outlines their plan to combine their expertise in order to offer innovative transmission solutions, according to an announcement on Monday.

Moreover, PPL and WindGrid are preparing to jointly respond later this month to a request for information (RFI) issued by the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire. These states seek feedback from interested stakeholders in relation to transmission system changes and upgrades required to integrate renewables into their grids in the future. Recent studies cited in the RFI suggest that up to 30 GW of offshore wind capacity will be deployed off the coast of New England by 2050.

While PPL is experienced in building and operating large-scale onshore transmission in the US, having spent more than USD 9 billion (EUR 9.25bn) on such projects over the past decade, its Belgian partner has been involved in the connection to its onshore grid of 14 offshore wind farms in Europe to date. At present, Elia operates three high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cable interconnectors and is developing the world's first energy islands.

(USD 1 = EUR 1.028)

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