Ideol and AOL Present Market-Ready Floating Substation

Ideol and Atlantique Offshore Energy (AOE) have unveiled the details of their market-ready universal floating offshore substation.

Developed in cooperation with ABB, the floating offshore substation is designed for both bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind farms starting at depths of 40 metres.

It is based on Ideol’s patented and shallow-draft Damping Pool® concept and on AOE’s certified electrical offshore substation concept SeeOs.

With the installation of the topside onto the floater at quayside, with the testing and pre-commissioning at quayside as well as an installation without heavy-lift offshore operations, this floating electrical offshore substation is said to generate significant cost reductions.

Ideol and AOE recently held a technical seminar in Paris to present the floating substation to the senior executives and technical experts of Europe’s largest transmission systems operators (TSO), utilities and offshore wind developers.

“We were happy to welcome the most influential players of the offshore wind industry in Paris today; their enthusiasm for our solution confirms the huge potential of this new product,” Bruno Geschier, Ideol’s Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, said.

”Ideol, with its patented floating technology and unique in-house expertise, is excited and proud to once again collaborate with leading firms such as AOE and ABB and to contribute to the acceleration of commercial-scale floating offshore wind.”

This universal and modular floating substation is expected to have a significant impact on the market of offshore substations and is market-ready for upcoming floating commercial tenders, in France and across the world, the companies said. The market potential is huge, as 115GW of new offshore capacity is expected to be installed around the globe by 2030.

“This project reflects our capacity to capitalize on the lessons learned we have from the Electrical Offshore Substations we successfully delivered, so as to innovate and to implement ready-to-market solutions,” Lionel Jossé, AOE’s Head of Sales & Marketing, said.

”The purpose of this workshop was to demonstrate to the different stakeholders of our industry the level of maturity and the relevance of this solution to strengthen the development of the floating offshore wind at a commercial scale.”

AOE is Chantiers de l’Atlantique Business Unit specialized in offshore constructions.