The Anonymous Widower

UK And Germany Will Face Threats Together, Says Burnham In Berlin

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

The UK and Germany will face threats together, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said as he reaffirmed a series of defence and security partnerships

These two paragraphs add some more detail.

On his first official European trip, apart from visits to Ukraine, Burnham met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and was greeted with military honours in Berlin.

Speaking to reporters at the German capital’s Federal Chancellery, the prime minister said both countries were facing hybrid attacks “on a regular basis” and “it makes sense” to take them on together.

I am surprised that the article doesn’t mention energy, as it is a problem for both Germany and the UK.

Germany’s problems include.

• They are short of both green electricity and gas.
• They produce about a fifth of their electricity from coal.
• They have weaned themselves off Russian gas and nuclear power.
• They have poor electricity storage.

Their strengths include.

• Siemens is the second-largest European wind turbine manufacturer.
• 29 wind farms in the UK, have been built around Siemens wind turbines.
• RWE is a major German developer of wind farms.
• RWE is the largest generator of electricity in the UK.
• RWE own or part-own thirteen wind farms in the UK.

Germany also has good plans to solve their problems.

• AquaVentus is a series of pipes and wires to bring green electricity and hydrogen from Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Aberdeen and Humberside in the UK. to Wilhelmshaven in North-West Germany.
• H2ercules is a plan to deliver hydrogen around Germany to power industry.

In New Study Shows How North Sea Offshore Wind Can Yield More While Costing Less, I found this “It appears from the text in this must read report, that the Germans might develop as much as 20 GW in neighbouring countries.”

The UK’s problems include.

• High electricity and gas prices.
• Not enough electricity storage.
• Poor connections to the grid.

Our strengths include.

• A large amount of solar and wind power is being developed.
• We will generate more electricity than we need.
• Geographically, we generate more electricity on the East side of the UK, so our electrons are ideally placed in invade Germany.
• We shall be able to send electricity and hydrogen to Germany using the AquaVentus system.
• We are developing at least three 2 GW/30 GWh pumped storage systems in Scotland to store electricity and back up AquaVentus.
• Rough and Aldbrough are gas storage reservoirs on Humberside, that could be converted to store hydrogen, so we could keep Germany supplied.
• HiiROC is affordable hydrogen production technology being developed in Hull, which is five times more efficient, than traditional methods.

Centrica is backing HiiROC and is developing a stable of British ideas.

The UK’s Biggest Advantage

This map shows the The Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) around the UK.

Note.

1. Undoubtedly, the rules by which EEZs were drawn, favoured the UK, and countries like Belgium and Germany didn’t do as well.
2. The area of the UK’s EEZ is twenty-three times that of Germany’s EEZ.
3. Belgium doesn’t do well compared to The Netherlands.
4. There is a substantial area between the UK and Ireland, which can deliver energy to where it is worth more.
5. Great Britain and Ireland are surrounded by a large area, that must be worth developing.
6. There is a convenient corridor, that runs North-West from the German EEZ to the UK EEZ, which could be used to deliver energy to Germany.

Didn’t the UK (and the Irish) do well!

I believe that there are joint actions that the UK and Germany can take to both their own advantages.

Find A Way To Keep Rough Operational

If we keep Rough operational, then.

•  It can usefully act as hydrogen storage for the Germans, with a connection to AquaVentus.
• We can also use it as a store for hydrogen created from excess energy, when we have too much.
• It can also supply hydrogen to companies like INEOS on Humberside.
• Hydrogen could also be exported from the Port of Hull in small coastal liquid hydrogen tankers.
• Companies that need a lot of zero-carbon energy could move to Humberside.

I suspect John Healey will make an announcement in the 2026 Budget.

AquaVentus And Energy Storage

AquaVentus, the pumped storage hydro in Scotland and the hydrogen storage on Humberside could make a big difference to the cost of UK energy, as instead of paying wind farm operators to turn off their wind farms, the excess electricity be handled in one of these ways.

• It can be sent to Germany using AquaVentus as electricity.
• Electricity can be stored in the pumped storage hydro in the Highlands.
• It can be used to create hydrogen which can be stored in Rough and Aldbrough.
• Hydrogen can be sent to Germany using Aquaventus.
• Electricity waste is minimised, which saves the UK money.
• Germany gets a more reliable supply of green hydrogen.

The UK should get a cash flow from Germany for the energy, that is delivered.

AquaVentus Could Be Combined With National Grid’s Eastern Green Links Project

Consider.

• AquaVentus will bring energy from Aberdeen and Humberside to Wilhelmshaven.
• National Grid are building five Eastern Green Links along the East Coast of the UK to move electricity to where it is needed.
• EGL1 will link Murton, Co Durham and Torness.
• EGL2 will link Drax, Yorkshire and Peterhead.
• EGL3 will link Anderby Creek and Peterhead.
• EGL4 will link Anderby Creek and Westfield, Fife.
• EGL5 will link Anderby Creek and Peterhead.
• All willhave a capacity of 2 GW.

The Eastern Green Links have a Wikipedia entry.

This Google Map shows the location of Wilhelmshaven with respect to the UK.

Wilhelmshaven is marked by the red arrow.

• It looks to me, that between Lincolnshire and Scotland AquaVentus and EGL1-5 will be following a similar route up the East Coast of the UK, which would surely make construction easier, faster and less costly.
• Provision could easily be made to provide a link to the Sizewell nuclear site, which has a total capacity of 4.4 GW.
• NeuConnect is a 1.4 GW interconnector between the Isle of Grain and Wilhelmshaven, that is under construction and will be 725 kilometres long.
• On the Isle of Grain is the 1.32 GW gas-fired power station, that is owned by RWE.
• BritNed is a 1 GW interconnector between the Isle of Grain and Rotterdam.
• Nemo Link is a 1 GW interconnector between Kent and Zeebrugge.
• LionLink is a proposed 1.8GW HVDC electrical interconnector to link offshore wind farms in the North Sea to the electrical grids in both Great Britain and the Netherlands.
• In National Grid, TenneT Germany Launch GriffinLink, A First Of A Find Project To Maximise Offshore Wind, I talk about GriffinLink, which will run between the UK and Germany.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a tidying-up of the electrical connections between England, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany.

Are the Danish And German Grids Connected Under The North Sea?

I asked Google AI this question and received this answer.

The Danish and German electricity grids are connected through undersea and land infrastructure, though direct grid-to-grid interconnections under the North Sea itself are currently expanding rather than existing as a direct bilateral link between the two countries’ mainland grids.

Current and Planned Connections

Land Boundary: The primary connection between Denmark and Germany is a shared 146-kilometer land border across the Jutland peninsula, which carries high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) power lines linking the two national transmission systems.

North Sea Undersea Cables (Indirect/Transit): The COBRAcable, a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine link operated by TenneT and Energinet, connects the electricity grids of the Netherlands and Denmark, running through the German sector of the North Sea.

North Sea Hybrid Projects: German and Danish transmission system operators (such as Amprion and Energinet) have signed agreements and memoranda—including joint declarations from the North Sea Summit—to examine and develop future hybrid offshore wind interconnectors and energy hub links in the North Sea.

Baltic Sea Connections: In contrast, direct cross-border grid and hybrid wind connections between Denmark and Germany are more established or actively deploying in the Baltic Sea, such as through the Kriegers Flak and Bornholm Energy Island projects.

It looks like what is happening between England and Germany has already been developed between Germany and Denmark.

Does Germany Want To Put Wind Farms In Other Countries EEZs And Bring The Energy To Germany?

Google AI gave this answer to my question.

Yes, Germany is moving toward integrating and allowing cross-border and radial offshore wind projects located in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of neighboring countries—such as Denmark—to connect directly to the German grid.

Rather than “renting” areas unilaterally, Germany is accomplishing this through joint cross-border European partnerships and bilateral agreements.

Key Details

Regulatory Changes: Germany has proposed amendments (such as via drafts integrating “international offshore connection lines” into its WindSeeG legislation) to explicitly cover radial lines from an offshore farm outside the German EEZ connected exclusively to the German grid.

Counting Toward Targets: These proposed rules allow cross-border radial offshore wind projects to count directly toward Germany’s national offshore wind targets (such as its 70 GW offshore wind goal).

Cross-Border Cooperation: Strategic frameworks—such as between Denmark and Germany—are being established to link projects in foreign waters (like Danish waters) to German converter platforms (e.g., the OST-2-4 platform in the German EEZ).

Research and Industry Push: Studies (including analysis by Fraunhofer IWES) and industry voices (such as Örsted) have argued that shifting or sharing some offshore build-out into neighboring waters like Denmark and Sweden can optimize output, lower costs, and reduce the risk of regionally weak wind conditions. This is also part of broader European agreements like the North Sea Summit declarations scaling up cross-border infrastructure.

Note.

1. The UK and German EEZs join via a corridor, that would surely be bideal for a large capacity cable, which is clearly visible on then EEZ map.
2. The UK has more than enough space for wind farms.
3. The primary source of the UK’s offshore energy could shift to wind farms to the West and North-West of Great Britain.
4. Eastern British would probably play a large part in the construction and service of German wind farms to the East of Great Britain.

There would appear to be winners all round.

• Germany gets the energy it needs.
• The UK gets the affordable energy it needs.
• The UK gets paid for the energy created in and exported from its waters.
• British jobs will be created in the construction and support of the German wind farms.

This could be the start of something very big for Germany and the UK.

October 17, 2026 Posted by AnonW | Energy, Energy Storage, Hydrogen | Aldbrough Gas Storage, Andy Burnham, AquaVentus, Belgium, Berlin, BritNed Interconnector, Brown Coal, Centrica, Coal, Electricity, Friedrich Merz, Gas Storage, Germany, Google AI, Grain Power Station, GriffinLink, H2ercules, HiiROC, Interconnectors, Isle Of Grain, John Healey, LionLink, National Grid, Natural Gas, NeuConnect, Offshore Wind Power, Port Of Hull, Rough Gas Storage, Russian Gas, RWE, ScotWind Leasing, Siemens Gamesa, Sizewell, SSE, The Netherlands, Wilhelmshaven, Wind Power | Leave a comment