Offshore Substation Safety

Thomas Boehme Det Norske Veritas (DNV), London

Industry Development

Offshore wind farms become bigger and are located further out in the sea offshore platforms needed
- AC transformer - DC converter - accommodation

Periodic/permanent manning of platforms for maintenance and inspection understand and manage associated risks Current offshore guidance focuses on oil & gas installations different risk profile in offshore wind farms
BWEA 31, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 20-22 Oct 2009

Det Norske Veritas

Robin Rigg Picture source: DNV Slide 2

Substations Locations

Horns Rev II Robin Rigg

Ormonde Walney Bard Offshore I

Lillgrund
Nysted II Kriegers Flak

Horns Rev I

Barrow
Lincs

BorWin I Alpha Ventus

Race Bank Sheringham Shoal

Nysted I
Baltic I Nordergrnde

Gwynt y Mr

Docking Shoal

Q7

Borkum Riffgrund

Gunfleet Sands
London Array Thanet

Greater Gabbard

Bligh Bank Thornton Bank

Existing substation Planned substation HVDC converter station

Slide 3

Det Norske Veritas

BWEA 31, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 20-22 Oct 2009

Hazards

Health & Safety

- - - - - - Fire and explosion Access, egress and transfer Work at height High voltage Dropped objects / swinging loads Electromagnetic fields

Environment
- Transformer oil spill - Diesel oil / aviation fuel spill

Asset
- Main component fault - Ship collision - Fire and explosion

Det Norske Veritas Horns Rev I Picture source: Elsam/Eltra

BWEA 31, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 20-22 Oct 2009

Slide 4

(Accident) History and Requirements

Major accidents lead to new legislation Offshore wind industry must avoid any major accident be proactive
BWEA 31, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 20-22 Oct 2009 Slide 5

Det Norske Veritas

Joint Industry Project

Partners

Special contributions:

Industry input for various specialist topics Information and review

- - - - Health & Safety Executive, UK Danish Energy Authority, Denmark Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning, Norway Minerals Management Service, USA

Det Norske Veritas

BWEA 31, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 20-22 Oct 2009

Slide 6

Project Execution

Compile background data (Oct 2008)

- Existing standards and design codes - Participants experiences and best practice - DNVs experience

Identify and evaluate hazards (HAZID), mitigate risks

- Facilitated meetings with participants

Develop specific design recommendations

- Performance (risk) based approach (less prescriptive) - Supported by relevant information from standards - Checked against latest research / developments

Review (mid Jul early Sep 2009)

- DNV / JIP participants / external

Issue DNV-OS-J201 (Oct 2009), project report

BWEA 31, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 20-22 Oct 2009 Slide 7

Det Norske Veritas

Design Issues: Arrangement

Transformer platform, normally unmanned
(5 operational platforms and majority of planned projects) Note: Significant daytime manning during first 6 ... 24 months

Transformer platform, periodically or permanently manned

(e.g. Bard Offshore I, Germany, 2010/11)

Separate transformer and accommodation platforms

(e.g. Horns Rev II, Denmark, 2009)
Det Norske Veritas BWEA 31, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 20-22 Oct 2009 Slide 8

Design Issues: Structural / Electrical

Layout to meet functional and operational requirements

- Segregation of areas - Location of equipment - Workplaces, welfare

Structural design
- Loads and load effects - Structural analysis, vibrations - Attention: ship collision, crane use

Electrical design
- Various applicable codes - Lack of offshore-certified HV equipment
Alpha Ventus Picture source: DOTI

Det Norske Veritas

BWEA 31, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 20-22 Oct 2009

Slide 9

Design Issues: Others

Fire and explosion protection

- Transformer fire/explosion perceived as highest consequence - Fire safety engineering option

Access and transfer

- Perceived as highest risk - Boat vs. helicopter - Stairs vs. ladder

Emergency response
- Design and procedures

Construction and maintenance

- Minimisation of offshore work - Consideration of O&M at design stage
Picture source: Undisclosed oil & gas platform

Det Norske Veritas

BWEA 31, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 20-22 Oct 2009

Slide 10

Conclusions

Offshore substations essential part of large wind farms Not everything from oil & gas transferrable, but lessons can be learned
- Offshore environment - Structural design - Safety

Key areas for improvement

- - - - Design for reliability Interface management Construction management Incident reporting, safety culture

Det Norske Picture source: Siemens AG LillgrundVeritas

BWEA 31, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 20-22 Oct 2009

Slide 11

Safeguarding life, property and the environment

www.dnv.com

Det Norske Veritas

BWEA 31, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 20-22 Oct 2009

Slide 12