Semco Maritime, ISC Consulting Engineers and Inocean are to form a new partnership to design floating substations.
Together, they will combine Semco Maritime and ISC’s offshore wind farm and fixed-bottom substation engineering and construction experience with Inocean’s expertise as naval architects through design work on floating structures for floating wind turbines and for major floating oil & gas topsides.
The team has developed a reliable, cost-effective, and scalable floating offshore substation concept for the market to help clients in their maturation, development, and construction phase of floating offshore wind projects.
Floating wind turbine technology is, in general, well understood in the market whereas floating substations are still a concept in its market maturation phase.
A substation layout has been developed to fit the shape of a three-column stabilised substructure; all known technology combined in a new wrapping.
“As floating wind farms develop in terms of size, distance from shore and water depth, the need for a floating offshore substation as a key element of the transmission asset is becoming vital,” said Tommy Flindt, Senior Director, Technology & Market Development, Renewable Energy, Semco Maritime.
“There are many technical risks to manage. By merging Semco Maritime and ISC’s two decades of successful track-record with offshore substation with that of Inocean’s two decades as a naval architect for floating structures, we believe we are the right team to manage and control these risks.”
Inocean MD Oystein Nilsen added: “The floating wind industry is believed to enter a growth trajectory and our experiences with the INOTM series of floating wind turbine foundations together with an extensive track record of integration/interface work related to HVDC substations will benefit the growing industry.
“We look forward to joining Inocean’s floating international experience with that of ISC and Semco Maritime to bring a solid offering to the market.”
Andreas Laungaard, Vice President of Renewable Energy & Operations Offshore at ISC, said: “As pioneers in offshore wind, ISC designed the world’s first fixed bottom substation for an offshore wind farm and since 2003 ISC has provided detailed engineering design for more than 45 offshore substations. We are now ready to venture onto floating substations by offering our track record and experience to create value for our clients.
“We believe our joint team will provide a cost-effective solution with solid reliability while delivering to the highest safety standards”.