Wind

'Making the leap': Hitachi ABB in floating wind substation tie-up with Linxon

Partnership builds on growing commitment to fast-emerging market with modular technology packages, including transformers and high-voltage switchgear

CAD of Hitachi ABB floating substation
CAD of Hitachi ABB floating substationFoto: Hitachi ABB

A new partnership between Linxon and its parent companies Hitachi ABB Power Grids and SNC-Lavalin/Atkins has been launched to develop floating electrical substations for the coming international fleet of deepwater wind farms.

The tie-up, which aims to marry the technical expertise of Hitachi ABB and Linxon in the area of alternating current offshore power technology with the engineering skills-set of SNC-Lavalin/Atkins in naval design, will target “modular, scalable, compact substation packages”, including transformers and high-voltage switchgear.

“With Linxon, we use proven technologies to make this leap into floating renewable energy possible,” said Alfredo Parres, head of renewables at Hitachi ABB.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids recently launched a new line of collector step-up transformers, earthing transformers and shunt reactors that are designed to “overcome the challenging of the offshore environment and withstand the physically demanding conditions on floating structures”, not least constant movement and exposure to vibration and wave shocks.
The power technology giant recently also inked a memorandum of understanding with BW Ideol to develop an industrial-scale floating substation design based on the latter’s low-draft ‘damping pool’ platform.
Parres told Recharge the “priority is to further develop a portfolio of products and solutions enabled for the floating environment... and to get there we are working intensively with project developers and other parts of the supply chain like – and not limited to – BW Ideol and Linxon”.
Hitachi ABB highlighted the recent Global Wind Energy Council forecast that floating offshore wind generation will grow from the current 106MW installed to “at least” 16GW in 2030.
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Published 1 October 2021, 10:38Updated 1 October 2021, 10:39
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