Atkins installs substation at Race Bank offshore wind farm in UK

The first of two Atkins-designed offshore substations for Race Bank offshore wind farm has been successfully installed at the site in the North Sea, a milestone achievement in the wind farm’s offshore construction phase.

As a critical piece of infrastructure, the substation is the first major piece of the Race Bank wind farm to be installed, and the second substation Atkins has designed for DONG Energy now in place in UK waters after the successful installation of the Burbo Bank Extension substation last month.

The topside was fabricated in Hoboken, Netherlands and the jacket was fabricated in Nami, Netherlands. The second offshore substation will be installed in 2017.

Andy Thompson, offshore engineering market lead in Atkins’ Energy UK & Europe business, said: “This is an important moment for our business as we support the charge forward for offshore wind in the UK. The rapid deployment of this technology combined with the standardisation that we have introduced across our designs for DONG Energy is helping to lower the cost of offshore wind and drive the development and maturation of this technology.”

As part of DONG Energy’s efforts to reduce the cost of offshore wind, and increase engagement with the UK supply chain to help the long term growth of the UK renewables industry, Atkins has taken a standardised approach to the design and fabrication of the offshore substations in an effort to help drive down the whole life costs of the platform whilst maintaining the highest safety and reliability standards.

The Race Bank project forms part of Atkins’ partnership a with DONG Energy which covers the design of eight offshore substation platforms; one at Burbo Bank Extension; two for the upcoming Walney Extension offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea; and a further three at the Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm.

Race Bank offshore wind farm, located in the Greater Wash area off the east coast of England, will have a capacity of up to 580MW and will provide enough power for over half a million UK homes once completed.