September 5 (Renewables Now) – Italian oilfield services contractor Saipem SpA (BIT:SPM) announced on Monday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Germany’s Siemens Energy AG (ETR:ENR) to jointly develop a concept for a 500-MW high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) floating electrical substation for the offshore wind power industry.
The floating substation concept will be based on a proven semi-submersible substructure and designed to operate in the most extreme offshore environments. The size of the facility could be scaled according to clients’ needs, and its design will address the manufacturing stage and fabrication and assembly capabilities around the world, Saipem said.
According to the engineering major, offshore substations floating in deep waters offer several advantages compared to alternatives, such as a lighter substructure, an easier and asset-light installation in challenging conditions, lower decommissioning costs, and ultimately a lower levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of floating wind farms.
“Our ambition is to take advantage of Saipem and Siemens Energy unique expertise, to jointly develop a cutting-edge floating design solution for offshore substations,” commented Fabrizio Botta, chief commercial officer of Saipem. “The new concept will be an enabler to enhance offshore wind developments in deeper waters by lowering the overall infrastructure investment.”
“The new joint solution will significantly optimize critical technical parameters, such as weight, electrical efficiency, and asset longevity, thus lowering the production costs and enabling an unprecedented number of countries to benefit from large-scale offshore wind generation,” added Agustin Tenorio, vice president Transmission Systems at Siemens Energy.
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