Offshore staff
LYSAKER, Norway – Aker Offshore Wind plans to deploy an underwater substation if successful with its bids for Scotland’s ScotWind licensing program.
The structure would be developed and constructed in Scotland and would also lead to export opportunities for Scottish businesses, the company claimed.
Substations help to direct the power generated by wind turbines to onshore users and have traditionally been installed above the sea surface.
According to Aker Offshore Wind, moving them to the seafloor could bring benefits. Seawater could be used as a natural cooling system, while reliability would be increased through stable temperatures, fewer components, and no rotating parts.
In addition, operational costs could come down through reduced maintenance and material use.
For ScotWind, the company and Ocean Winds will jointly submit a series of floating bids that could provide up to 6,000 MW of energy in the Outer Moray Firth area of northeast Scotland.
Aker Solutions would support the delivery of substations from its Aberdeen facilities.
10/07/2021
