A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the cooperative development of a 500MW floating substation for the offshore wind industry has been signed by Saipem and Siemens Energy.
The idea is to create a 500MW high voltage alternating current floating electrical substation in a large body of water.
According to the partners, the concept has a number of benefits, including a lighter substructure, easier and asset-light installation in difficult situations, as well as cheaper decommissioning costs.
The floating offshore substation concept from Saipem and Siemens Energy will be built on a tried-and-true semisubmersible substructure. It is made to function in the most harsh situations with improved stability and can be ramped up as needed by clients.
The design will also take into account the industrialization stage because it is adaptable to fabrication and assembly infrastructures all over the world.
A practical way to lower the levelized cost of energy of floating wind farms is the floating substation.
In order to create a cutting-edge, standardised, and scalable technology, Siemens Energy’s extensive transmission portfolio will be integrated with Saipem’s competence in the designing of complex and sustainable offshore infrastructures, including floating solutions.
Chief Commercial Officer at Saipem, Fabrizio Botta, said “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.”
“This agreement further confirms Saipem ambition to strengthen its leadership role in the offshore wind market by delivering industrialised and standard solutions.”
Vice President Transmission Systems at Siemens Energy, Agustin Tenorio, said “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.”
“This MoU is an integral part of Siemens Energy’s Net Zero strategy in scaling up its activities through technology partnerships for specific markets, which complements the well-established turnkey business we already execute today.”
