Good things come in threes at GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions business!
Over the past three months, three offshore electrical platforms with GE Grid Solutions’ technology successfully sailed away from ports in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, to be installed at sea. GE Grid Solutions’ Alternating Current (AC) Systems division in charge of turnkey projects is leading the project management, design, system integration, installation and commissioning of those electrical high-voltage electrical systems.
Neart na Gaoithe Electrical Platform sail-away (May 22, 2022)
First to set sail on May 22 was the offshore topside platform for the Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind farm, 12 miles off the Fife coast in Scotland, UK. Sailing from Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the platform houses GE’s 220kV and 66kV substation equipment. The substation will now be commissioned along with the onshore substation located in East Lothian, UK, which will also feature GE’s equipment. In total, the project will include four power transformers, four reactors, the static synchronous compensator (STATCOM), power quality components, and gas insulated switchgear (GIS) — at 66kV, 220kV and 400kV — as well as protection and control, SCADA, and telecommunications systems. Once operational, the 54 wind turbines are expected to offset more than 400,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year and provide enough electricity to power more than 375,000 Scottish homes.
This project was awarded on October 21, 2019, to a consortium including GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions business and HSM offshore energy by NnG, owned by EDF Renewables UK and ESB. The target power generation from the first platform is 225 MW.
St Brieuc Electrical Platform sail-away (June 30, 202)
On June 30, the offshore substation for the offshore wind farm, 16km off the coast of Brittany in France, sailed away from Antwerpen in Belgium. The platform was installed on its jacket on July 7 in Saint Brieuc, France.
GE Grid Solutions’ AC Systems sites in Boulogne-Billancourt (France) and Stafford (UK) designed and integrated the high voltage systems for this project. The systems include 245 kV and 72,5 kV gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) from Aix-les-Bains (France), transformers manufactured in Gebze (Turkey), a SCADA and protection systems developed in Montpellier (France).
The project was awarded by Ailes Marines (a company owned 100% by Iberdrola) to GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions business on May 15, 2020 and targets 496 MW power generation.
Fécamp Electrical Platform sail-away (July 22, 2022)
The third sail-away on July 22 was destined for the offshore wind farm, 13km off the coast of Fécamp in France.
The offshore substation was transported from Saint-Nazaire in France to be installed on its jackets. Featuring a 225 kV GIS, power transformers and a control and protection system, this 498 MW substation will now be commissioned to facilitate the connection of 71 wind turbines to the grid. The Fécamp wind farm is expected to be operational in 2023 and will offset two million tons of CO2 and provide enough electricity to fulfil the domestic power consumption of around 770,000 people.
This project was awarded by the customer Eolienne Offshore des Hautes Falaises on February 20, 2020, to a consortium including Atlantique Offshore Energy, the business unit of Chantiers de l’Atlantique dedicated to Renewable Marine Energies, DEME Group’s French subsidiary Société de Dragage International SA and GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions business.
“This is an exciting time at GE Grid Solutions as we help connect three new offshore winds farms to the grid. These substations will play a central role by collecting the electricity produced by the wind turbines and increasing the voltage, through power transformers, to limit energy losses when the energy gets transferred to the coast,” explained Philippe Hartheiser, AC Turnkey Business Leader for Europe, Russia & CIS at GE Grid Solutions. “We are proud to work with our customers to integrate more renewable energy on to the grid.”
