Ørsted Applies For Fewer, Bigger Hornsea Two Offshore Substations

Ørsted has sent an application to the UK’s Planning Inspectorate to reduce the maximum number of offshore HVAC collector substations permitted under the Hornsea Project Two Development Consent Order (DCO).

The project’s current DCO allows a maximum number of six offshore HVAC collector substations to be installed within the wind farm’s array area, as previously stipulated in the project’s Environmental Statement.

Ørsted now seeks, through Optimus Wind Limited and Breesea Limited, to reduce the maximum number of offshore HVAC substations from six to three, as well as to increase the permitted maximum size and maximum area of the offshore HVAC collector substation platforms.

The width of the offshore substations would be increased from up to 60 metres to up to 90 metres, and the length from up to 60 metres to up to 70 metres. The maximum area would be increased from up to 3,600 square metres to up to 6,300 square metres.

The increase in size is required because of the optimised design for a reduced number of the offshore substations, Ørsted said.

There will be no need to increase the footprint of the supporting structures’ impact on the seabed to support the bigger topsides, and the number of legs and piles on the jacket infrastructure supporting the topsides will remain the same as allowed in the DCO, according to the developer.

Ørsted has also sent an application for amendments to the marine licenses to the Marine Management Organisation.

In September 2017, the Hornsea Project Two received a Contract for Difference for 1,386MW. The wind farm will feature Siemens Gamesa 8MW turbines installed some 89 kilometres from the Yorkshire coast.

Once operational in 2022, it will be the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, leapfrogging the 1.2GW Hornsea Project One, also being developed by Ørsted. Similarly to the Hornsea Project One, the electricity generated on Hornsea Project Two will be collected and delivered to the grid via three offshore collector substations and one reactive compensation substation.