The Journey of Offshore Wind Electricity

Full transcript

Out at sea, a single offshore wind turbine rises above the waves, its foundation anchored deep into the seabed below. As the blades spin, a glow of electricity begins to build at the base of the tower - this is where the journey starts. Pulling back, we see a whole array of turbines arranged in a grid across the water. Cables run along the seabed, linking turbine to turbine, carrying pulses of electricity from one to the next until they all converge. All of those array cables meet at an offshore substation in the middle of the wind farm. Here, the voltage is stepped up, because lower voltage means more energy lost along the way, while higher voltage carries that same power with far less loss. From the substation, one thick export cable leaves the platform and runs along the seabed, stretching tens of kilometres towards the distant coastline, carrying all that gathered power steadily towards land. The cable finally reaches landfall, emerging at the beach and disappearing beneath the sand. This is the shoreline transition, where the deep blue of the sea gives way to the green of the land. Underground, the cable continues its journey to an onshore substation, fenced and quiet, where the power is prepared for distribution. From there, transmission towers carry it onward into the grid, branching out to homes, a town and industry. Pulling back, we see the whole journey in one frame, from turbine to transmission tower, past coastal towns and farmland alike. It's a reminder that this story is not only about the sea.