Challenges for Offshore Wind Substation Design and

Deployment

Thequantityofenergylostduringconversionfromwindturbinetothegridcanbeabsolutely
enormous,makingitimperativeforthewindindustrytodevelopefficienttransformationand
exportsystemstoensurethemostcosteffectivemovementofenergyfromwindfarmstothe
publicsystem.Windfarmsstandasthesolutionforextremewindfarminstallationsthego
betweenfortransportingelectricityfromwindturbinesintoanationalgrid.
Yetsubstationdevelopmentisrelativelynewwithonly22builtatthetimeofthiswriting
andsoverylittlehasbeenstandardized,leavingalotofroomforimprovement.Yetifwind
wantstobecomealeaderinrenewableenergy,itmustalsobecometheleadingforcebehind
thedevelopmentoftopnotchoffshoresubstations.
CurrentStateofWindFarmOffshoreSubstationDevelopment
MuchofthecurrentdevelopmentinwindisoccurringintheUK,aregionthataccountsfor
abouthalfofalloffshorewindinEurope,followedbyGermanywith25%.Thoughthisputsthe
UKinapositionofleadingthemarket,withtremendousopportunitiestodevelopindustry
leadingtechnologiesandsolutionsforthewindindustry,othercountriesarepushingthelimits
ofoffshoresubstationdevelopmentinanattempttobuildthebestandmostefficientsolution.
Sinceoffshorewindsubstationsarebecomingincreasinglyimportantforoverallprofitabilityin
thewindenergyindustry,thissectorislikelytoseealotofactivityinthedecadestocome.i
Differentcountrieshavegrappledwithissuessurroundingthedevelopmentofoffshore
substationsandintegrationintothegridintheirownways.InDenmark,forinstance,therehas
beenastrongcoordinationbetweenthewindfarmandgriddesignerssothatthegridconcept
wasalwayspartofthesiteselection.Asaresult,theprojectsinthiscountryhavebeensimple
andrelativelysmall,withsingleACcables.
InGermany,ontheotherhand,therehavebeenafewfalsestarts.Forinstance,in2006there
wereprojectsthatdidntgetfullyfunded,dueinlargeparttothenumberofprojectsawarded
inoneyear.Asaresult,itwasdifficultforthetenanttogetfinancingandcertification.Itwas
alsoachallengeforthesupplychaintodeliverbecauseofthepossibilityofdelays.
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InGreatBritain,thesituationisyetdifferentagain.Inthiscase,thedeveloperhasbeen
responsibletobuildtheproject,andthentransfersresponsibilitytotheoffshoretransmission
operator(OFTO),whichresultsinalowcostfinancingarrangement.Butbecausethismodel
doesntfitanyonesbusinessmodel,thereisstilluncertaintyaboutitseffectiveness.Whatis
certainisthatcoordinationwillbeessentialinorderforGreatBritaintoreachtheiroffshore
windfarmgoals.
Timewilltellwhichcountrywilldevelopthemosteffectivebenchmarksandlawsforinstalling
offshoresubstationsandintegratingthatpowerintotheirgrids.Inthemeantime,thefieldis
relativelywideopen.
ManyMovingPartsCreateChallengesforStandardizedOffshoreSubstationsDesign
Thereareseveralchallengesfacingthedevelopmentofsubstationsforoffshorewindprojects.
Perhapsthebiggestandmostimpactfulissueisthattodate,allsubstationshavebeendesigned
inabespokefashion,witheachsubstationacustomfitfortheparticularproject.Thishas
resultedinamuchhighercostpersubstation,leavingplentyofroomforimprovedefficiencies
andinnovativetechnologiestoreducecostsofthisaspectofwindfarmdevelopment.
Manyfactorsmustbeconsideredwhendesigningthestructureofanoffshoresubstation,allof
whichhavebeensignificantcontributorstothechallengeofdevelopingastandardizeddesign.
Forinstance,whatblocksize(MW)shouldbeused,andwillthesubstationtransporttheenergy
inACorDC?Willthesubstationfunctionsolelyasatransformingandexportingsystemorwillit
alsoserveasanoffshorebaseformaintainingawindfarm?Shouldaccesstothebasebeby
helicopteronlyorbyboataswell?Howwillitbeinstalledwithaselfinstallingsystemorbya
largevesselmountedcrane?Willthesubstationcontainprefabricatedmodulesorbedesigned
inabespoke,integratedstyle?Andshouldthesystemcontainaskinforprotectionornot?
Allofthesequestionsmustbeansweredwhencreatingastandardizedoffshoresubstation,and
theydeterminethespeedwithwhichitwillbedeveloped,thecostforbuildingandinstallingit,
andhowtheenergywillbetransmittedbetweenturbinesandonshoresystems.Thatsaid,there
aresomegeneralrulesbeingfollowedincurrentdesigntheoryforoffshoresubstations.

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IndustryExamplesofOffshoreSubstationInstallations
Todate,industryhasproducedseveralexamplesofoffshoresubstationinstallationsillustrate
thecustomnatureoftheseprojectstodate.Siemens,forinstance,hasbeendeployingsystems
foroffshoresubstationsinwindfarmprojects.Their
WIPOS(windpoweroffshoresubstation)hasseveral
configurations,includingselflifting,topsideand
jacket,aswellasfloating,allofwhichinvolve
prefabricatedsectionswithflexibleconfigurationsfor
bothACandDCapplications.ii
TheWIPOStopsideandjacketsolutionofferedby
Siemensisbestusedwheretherearevariableseabed
conditionsandareidealwhentopsidesare
particularlyheavyand/orcableconnectionsontothe
substationarecomplex.Thebaseofthissystemisthe
jacketsubstructurewhichincludestubularlegsand
bracesforstrength.Inthetopsidearethemain
voltageelectricalequipment,personneland
equipmentsupportfacilities,andothercustomizable
maincomponents.

SiemensWIPOSOffshorewind
substations

Anothernewwindparksubstationinstallation
thathascomeunderwayistheDanTysk
offshorewindparkprojectrunbyVattenfalland
StadtwerkeMunchen(SWM)inthe
Netherlands.Thissubstationwillcollectenergy
from80differentwindturbinesasthehubfor
onwardtransportofelectricityviaasubmarine
cabletothetransferstationinGermany.

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VattenfallandStadtwerkeMunchen
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OffshoreWindFarmDanTysk
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Thesubstationwillbeconstructedoftwomainparts,includingthetopsideandthejacket.The
topsidewillhousethetechnicalsystems,whichwillbesupportedbythesteelconstructed
jacketwhichwillsitontheNorthSeabed.Thissubstationwillmeasure75metersinheightand
weigh3,200tonnes,whichisequivalentto2,300midsizedvehicles.Withatotalcapacityof288
MWfromthewindpark,thissubstationwillfunnelenergytothegridfortheequivalentof
400,000Germanhomes.iii
Rambollisanotherplayerintheoffshoresubstationdevelopmentmarket.Theyrecently
completedanoffshoresubstationinstallationofftheshoreofDenmarkfortheAnholtoffshore
windfarm,whichisoperatedbytheDanishenergyproviderEnerginet.dkandownedbythe
MinistryofEnergyandClimate.Whendesigningthissubstation,severalchallengeshadtobe
overcome,includingunevenseabedconditions,highriskoficeloadsduringwintermonths,and
heavyshiptraffic.
Thissubstationisdesignedwithatopsideconsistingofacentralareathatholdsthreemain
transformersand220kVGISswitchgear,aswellasauxiliaryequipment.Onseverallevelsofthe
topside,therearedecksthatholdequipmentforhighvoltagetransmissionanddistribution,as
wellasemergencygenerators,batteries,andpanelsforwindturbinecontrol.Thissubstation
willimportenergyfrom33kVradialcablesfromthewindturbinesandtransformitandexport
itonshorevia220kVcablesconnectedtothenationalgrid.
ThissubstationisthefirsttobedevelopedincompliancewiththeDNVOSJ201standardfor
OffshoreSubstationsforWindFarmswhichwillbecomeoneofthefuturestandardsusedfor
Europeanoffshorewindfarms.Itwillprovide400MWofenergyfroma111windturbines
whichwillbeenoughenergyfor400,000householdsor4%ofDenmarkstotalpower
consumption.ivConstructiononthesubstationculminatedinthehoistingofthe1,600tonne
heavytopsectionintopositionwiththeassistanceofaDutchcranevesselonApril6,2012.The
substationistobeoperationalbyAugust1,2012.v
TheImportanceofStandardizationforOffshoreWindSubstationDevelopment
Timingofinstallationisperhapsoneofthebiggestchallengesofthebespokenatureofoffshore
substationdesigntodate.Ingeneral,itismostcosteffectivetohaveasubstationonlinebefore
orbythetimeawindfarmcomesonlineinordertoachievemaximumenergyreturnon
investmentforeachinstallation.Thisisimportantbecauseasinglelostdayofearningsfora
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windfarmisequalto1%ofthetotalsubstationcapex.viUncertaintiesovergridreadinessalso
haveimplicationsfortheriskandcostoffinanceforawindproject.However,thebuildtimefor
gridconnectionisusuallymuchlongerforwindpowerthanotherpoweroptions,sotimingis
oneofthechallengesfacedbythewindindustry.Standardizationofdesignwouldmake
installationnotonlyquicker,butmorecosteffective.
Thereareotherclearbenefitsfortheindustryifstandardizationforoffshorewindfarm
substationscanbedeveloped.Infact,someexperts,includingoffshorewindenergyguru
MatthewKnight,headofbusinessdevelopmentatSiemensTransmissionandDistribution
division,estimatethatthecostofelectricitytransmissioncouldbecutbyafullthirdif
substationdesignanddeploymentwerestandardised.viiAccordingtoKnight,thekeyto
achievingsuchsavingswouldbetodevelopandmassproducesubstationsatasetsize.By
buildinginblockssuchas300MWand500MW,itwouldsignificantlyhelptheindustrysupply
chaintopredictdemandandimproveefficiencyoftransmissiontechnologies.
ImagesviaSiemensandStrukton

Maryruth Belsey Priebe

A student of all things green, Maryruth has a special
interest in cleantech and green buildings. In recent years,
Maryruth has worked as the senior editor of The Green
Economy magazine, is a regular blogger for several green
business ventures, and has contributed to the editorial
content of not one, but two eco-living websites:
www.ecolife.com and www.GreenYour.com. You can learn
more about Maryruth's work by visiting her site,
www.jadecreative.com.
Sources:

Shankleman,J.(2011,October27).Siemensrevealsplantomassproduceoffshorewindfarms.Retrievedfrom
BusinessGreen:http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2120228/siemensrevealsplanmassproduceoffshore
windfarms

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ii

GridAccessSolutions.(n.d.).RetrievedfromSiemens:http://www.energy.siemens.com/hq/en/power
transmission/gridaccesssolutions/wipos.htm#content=Description

iii

Germany:VattenfallStartsConstructionofDanTyskSubstation.(2012,March19).Retrievedfrom
offshoreWIND.biz:http://www.offshorewind.biz/2012/03/19/vattenfallstartsconstructionofdantysksubstation/

iv

SubstationDesignforAnholtOffshoreWindFarm.(n.d.).RetrievedfromRamboll:
http://www.slideshare.net/pbnrambollcom/substationdesignanholtoffshorewindfarm

Denmark:AnholtSubstationScheduledforOperationon1August2012.(2012,May3).Retrievedfrom
offshoreWIND.biz:http://www.offshorewind.biz/2012/05/03/denmarkanholtsubstationscheduledforoperation
on1august2012/

vi

Knight,M.(2011,December6).Connectingoffshorewind:Lessonssofarandfuturechallenges.Retrievedfrom
SiemensEnergy:
http://storbritannien.um.dk/en/~/media/storbritannien/Documents/Trade%20Council/Siemens.ashx
vii

Shankleman,J.(2011,October27).Siemensrevealsplantomassproduceoffshorewindfarms.Retrievedfrom
BusinessGreen:http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2120228/siemensrevealsplanmassproduceoffshore
windfarms

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