The renewable energy market is growing rapidly. Wind farms and solar parks are becoming larger and more complex, while the infrastructure connecting these projects to the electricity grid is under increasing pressure. According to Roy Bosman, this is exactly where the questions arise that determine whether a project operates reliably or not.

Roy Bosman has been working at Lovink Enertech for several years and has been active as Sales Manager Renewables since this year. In his daily work, he is involved in wind farms, solar parks and, increasingly, battery energy storage systems. His primary focus is on Europe, but the practical challenges he encounters extend far beyond these borders. From this perspective, he sees how design choices, component availability and environmental conditions come together in medium‑voltage networks.

Roy describes his role as follows: “My focus is on wind farms, solar parks and battery energy storage. What you notice is that every project is different, but the same themes keep coming back.”

Grid congestion and energy storage

One development Roy encounters in almost every country is grid congestion and a growing demand for electricity. Renewable energy production is growing faster than the electricity grid can handle.

Roy explains how structural this challenge has become: “What you see very clearly now is that a lot of energy is being generated, but the grid simply can’t handle it. That’s not only the case in the Netherlands, it’s also happening in many countries.”

This limitation is changing how renewable energy projects are designed. Energy is no longer always fed directly into the grid, but is increasingly stored first.

According to Roy, this trend is now common in many projects: “You see more and more projects moving towards BESS: Battery Energy Storage Systems. Instead of connecting everything directly to the grid, energy is stored in large battery systems and fed into the network when needed.”

This shift places even greater emphasis on the reliability of medium‑voltage connections within a renewable energy park.

Challenges in the execution of renewable energy projects

While market developments set the direction, Roy observes that many challenges only become visible during the execution phase. Designs may be technically sound on paper, but still need to perform under real‑world conditions.

Roy mentions water ingress as an issue that frequently occurs in practice: “In the Netherlands, you see many solar parks built on low‑lying land reclaimed from the sea. These sites are regularly flooded. Water ingress is not an exception; it’s something you have to account for structurally. If you don’t, solutions simply won’t perform as intended in the long run.”

In addition to environmental factors, space constraints and component availability are becoming increasingly important. Switchgears, in particular, often turns into a bottleneck. Roy explains this very plainly: “Normally, switchgear is used to connect turbines to the collection network. But lead times can easily exceed a year. That means a wind turbine may have to wait before it can even start operating and generating energy.”

In situations like these, Roy sees engineering teams actively looking for solutions that better fit real‑world conditions, without putting unnecessary pressure on planning and execution.

The role of cable joints in reliable medium‑voltage networks

According to Roy, reliability in renewable energy projects is ultimately not determined by one large, visible component, but by how well everything is connected. Technical and practical decisions come together especially at the medium‑voltage level.

Roy stresses that the role of cable joints is often underestimated: “A cable joint may be a small part of the system and only a small part of the total investment. Precisely because of that, it’s sometimes treated too lightly. Yet this is exactly where everything comes together. If there’s a failure in a cable joint, it can result in the entire park behind it going offline.”

The impact of such a failure is not only technical, but also directly financial. Roy explains: “Any downtime in a wind farm results in revenue being lost.”

His key message is therefore clear: cable accessories should never be treated as a side issue. They are components, as Roy puts it, “where there is no room for uncertainty.”

Specialisation in practice

In his daily work, Roy sees that focus and specialisation play a key role in how companies approach solutions. At Lovink, that focus is fully on cable joints and medium‑voltage accessories.

Roy states this very clearly: “Lovink exclusively focuses on cable joints. That’s what everyone here works on full‑time.”

According to Roy, this focus is also visible in how companies present themselves. Trade fairs often provide a clear picture of where attention is placed. “When you walk around trade fairs, you often see that cable joints receive very little attention. That says something about which components are central within a portfolio.”

Upcoming BESS project in Denmark

One upcoming project Roy is currently involved in is a BESS project in Denmark. The challenge lies primarily in practical execution.

Roy explains: “They had space for three cables in the switchgear, but they ended up with two 3-phase systems. The question was very concrete: how do we solve this practically, without making the design more complex or vulnerable?

Sometimes we support projects with a demonstration in the workshop, but for this project we will be on site and provide technical supervision, ensuring the installation is carried out correctly in practice.”

Where Roy sees opportunities for Lovink

Looking ahead, Roy sees that Lovink’s position varies by market. In some countries, Lovink has been active in medium‑voltage networks for a long time and is well known. In other markets, that recognition is less self‑evident, while conversations show there is a clear demand for specialised knowledge and solutions.

Roy explains: “In the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom, Lovink is generally well known. In other countries, the level of recognition is lower, but once people understand what we do, there is a lot of interest.”

For Roy, this highlights the importance of cable joints within a project. They may not always stand out, but they play a decisive role in the reliability of a renewable energy park.

In conversation about your renewable energy project?

Roy Bosman is happy to discuss challenges within wind, solar or battery energy storage projects.