Why Large Offshore Wind Farms Should Double Their Intra-Array Voltage

Published 11 May 2021

• Reproduced with kind permission of Mane - Worldwide Recruitment Specialists.
  
  

Offshore Wind Farms

Offshore wind farms are now the biggest contributor of green energy to the National Grid. But the cost of installing and running them is problematically high – and the race is on to solve that problem as the 2050 net-zero deadline looms closer.

Could pumping up the intra-array voltage from 33kV to 66kV be the answer?

A Carbon Trust study found that increasing to either 48kV or 66kV would cut costs and increase yields over the life cycle of a wind farm. Of the two, 66kV brought the bigger benefits.

While 33kV is the most practical choice for wind farms at present, it means the power has to be stepped up to a much higher voltage like 110kV at an offshore substation for transmission in the UK. This generates massive costs in cabling and substations, which are often remote and difficult to access.

Higher voltage array technology should not only cut these costs but also boost efficiency by preserving more of the energy the wind farms generate.

The Carbon Trust predicts that switching to 66kV could reduce the cost of offshore wind power by 1.5%. To encourage this, it launched a competition to fast-track the development of 66kV cables, “The Race for 66kV”, awarding funding to three winning companies, Prysmian, Nexans and JDR.

Phil de Villiers, the Carbon Trust’s Head of Offshore Wind, said higher voltages could increase transmittable power by over 100%, and also make it possible to develop much larger arrays with more turbines per array.

Developers are already showing interest, including major players like Eon, RWE Innogy, ScottishPower Renewables, Dong, Statkraft, Vattenfall, SSE, and Statoil.

See how T&D support, supply and service the Renewable Energy industry.

Thorne & Derrick are Specialist Distributors to the UK and international Offshore Wind & Renewable industry to provide safe and reliable LV HV Electrical Cable & Power Distribution Systems up to 66kV – we are highly customer responsive and absolutely committed to providing a world-class service.

Contact our UK Power Team for competitive quotations, fast delivery from stock and technical support or training on all LV-HV products.

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