Seagreen reaches offshore substation milestone with topside installed

A Petrofac team supporting the construction of the world’s deepest fixed bottom offshore wind farm at the Seagreen project has reached an important milestone with the installation of the offshore substation topside in the North Sea, the company said on Wednesday.

Situated around 27km off the Angus coast, the Seagreen wind farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (49 percent) and TotalEnergies (51 percent). At 1.1GW, the wind farm will be capable of generating around 5,000 GWh of renewable energy annually which is enough clean and sustainable electricity to power more than 1.6 million UK homes.

The substation forms the backbone of the offshore wind farm. At 40 metres long, 45 metres wide and 15 metres high, the 4,800 tonnes heavyweight topside superstructure accommodates three circuits to generate 1075 MW of electricity.

“The safe and successful installation of the substation topside is a significant milestone in the delivery of this important energy transition project for the UK. Everyone involved should be proud of this achievement and the great teamwork and collaboration shown between all partners and parties working together,” Vipul Sawe, Petrofac’s Senior Project Director, said in a statement.

Petrofac entered into a Preferred Supplier Agreement with SSE Renewables in 2020 to design, supply and install the HVAC onshore and offshore substations for the Seagreen project. Once constructed, the project will be the largest in Scotland.

Petrofac is providing the engineering, procurement, fabrication, transportation, offshore installation and commissioning of the High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) offshore substation platform. In addition to the topside, this includes the jacket that supports the offshore platform substation, which was successfully installed and secured on the seabed earlier this year, Petrofac said.

An onshore substation scope with all civil work and major equipment is also included.