Atkins, a design, engineering and project management consultancy, and DONG Energy, the offshore wind developer, have signed a contract for engineering design services for three offshore substations at DONG Energy’s proposed Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm.
As part of DONG Energy’s efforts to reduce the cost of offshore wind, and increase engagement with the UK supply chain, Atkins will offer a standardised approach to fabrication of the offshore substations to drive down the whole life costs to DONG Energy whilst maintaining the highest safety and reliability standards. Brent Cheshire, UK country chairperson at DONG Energy, said: “Standardising the design of major components is an important step towards reducing the cost of electricity generated by our future offshore wind farms. This contract builds on the offshore substation design work that Atkins is already undertaking for us.
Phil Malem, managing director of Atkins’ Power and Renewables business, said: “Our long-standing relationship with DONG Energy demonstrates how the move to a standardised approach for marine renewables design and engineering can drive down costs at the same time as maintaining standards and remaining innovative in our approach.”
Hornsea Project One is located 120km off the Yorkshire coast and covers approximately 407km2. The project is scheduled to commence operation by 2020 when it would become the world’s first gigawatt scale far-from-shore wind farm.
