Case Study: Elia Group integrates offshore wind power into the European grid with Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL)

Belgium Integrates Offshore Wind Power Into European Grid

Elia Group, Belgium’s transmission system operator, needed to bring a major new offshore wind and HVdc interconnector online quickly while maintaining grid stability and avoiding blackouts. The project had a tight deadline and required a special protection scheme to support power flows from the wind farms and the link to the United Kingdom. Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) was brought in to provide the protection, automation, and communications solution, including SEL relays, RTAC, Axion, and the SEL-2740S software-defined network switch.

SEL designed, tested, and commissioned the special protection scheme in less than 10 months, using hardware-in-the-loop simulation to validate performance before deployment. The system responded in 20 milliseconds against a 40-millisecond requirement, and Elia energized the protection system on January 25, with the HVdc link entering commercial operation on January 31, 2019. As a result, Elia improved grid stability and enabled reliable integration of offshore wind power, supporting electricity delivery to millions of homes and businesses in Belgium and the UK.

Elia Group

Rodolphe Hanuise

Elia Project Manager