Saipem and Siemens Energy have inked a deal for the joint development of a 500MW floating substation for the offshore wind industry.
The duo has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the same.
According to the companies, the duo aims for a high voltage alternating current floating electrical substation. The project will have a 500MW capacity for installation in deep water.
They informed that the project “offers several advantages such as a lighter substructure, an easier and asset-light installation in challenging conditions as well as lower decommissioning costs.”
The floating offshore substation consists of a proven semisubmersible substructure and can sustain even extreme environments. Besides, the design also addresses the industrialisation phase, the companies said.
The project is expected to provide a solution for reducing the levelised cost of energy of floating wind farms.
Fabrizio Botta, Chief Commercial Officer at Saipem, was quoted in a statement, “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. The new concept will be an enabler to enhance offshore wind developments in deeper waters by lowering the overall infrastructure investment.”
Saipem aims to boost its position and role in the offshore wind market.
Meanwhile, Agustin Tenorio, Vice President Transmission Systems at Siemens Energy, remarked, “The new joint solution will significantly optimise 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.”
