Orsted has awarded Tampnet a contract to supply 4G coverage for its 1200MW offshore wind farm Hornsea 1 off the UK’s north east coast.
Tampnet has installed base stations on the reactive compensation station securing 4G coverage between the shore and the wind farm area, 120km out at sea.
Base stations have also been installed on the three substations securing 4G/long-term evolution (LTE) coverage in the wind farm area for all construction vessels and Orsted’s service operations vessel, Edda Mistral.
When fully operational in 2020, Hornsea 1 will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
Tampnet North Sea managing director Per Atle Sorensen said: “We are thrilled to be awarded this contract.
“Not only is it the world’s largest offshore wind farm, it is also the very first wind farm that Tampnet is supplying with 4G/LTE coverage – a true milestone for us.”
Hornsea 1 will span an area of approximately 407 square km and will use 174 7MW wind turbines with, each 190 metres tall.
The wind farm’s construction manager Stefan Hoonings said: “Hornsea One keeps pushing the boundaries.
“It’s the furthest a wind farm has ever been built from shore so we’ve had to introduce new ways of doing things, and the superfast Tampnet internet connection offshore, during the construction phase, is a great example of that.
Initially Hornsea 1 was able to “piggy-back” on an existing Tampnet network on an oil and gas platform over 50km north the wind project.
Hoonings added: “We’ve created a fully functioning office offshore, enabling us to base the site coordination and planning teams on site, and thanks to the high-speed connection we can fully digitalise our operations.”
As well as improving operational efficiencies Hooning said the network has enabled personnel to stay in touch with their families. “We’re always looking for ways to make the Hornsea One site a great place to work, and I think we’ve succeeded here,” he said.