Hitachi Energy Cuts Costs of Large Offshore Wind Farms

Grid-eXpand™ Reduces Size and Weight of Grid-Connection Platform, Lowering Capital and Operating Costs for Offshore Transmission

Hitachi Energy supplied China's first 220 kV modular and prefabricated offshore grid connection to one of China's largest power companies, State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), for the

for the 500 MW South V wind farm on the Shandong Peninsula off the northeast coast of China.

Thanks to Hitachi Energy's innovative product portfolio Grid-eXpand modular and prefabricated grid connections.

The compact, lightweight solution reduces the size of the platform by about 30 percent and its weight by about 20 percent, which corresponds to about 700 tons of steel and other expensive materials.

This significantly reduces the cost of building the platform, towing it to the wind farm and setting it up on the seabed.

Crucially, Grid-eXpand's solution also reduces the delivery time by eight weeks compared to traditional offshore grid connections.

Each module is pre-engineered, pre-assembled and pre-tested prior to delivery, and then shipped as a single pre-fabricated unit ready for rapid installation on the shipyard's platform.

Grid connection equipment, including Hitachi Energy switchgear and high-voltage products, far exceeded international benchmarks,...

to ensure reliability and avoid costly unscheduled maintenance in remote, unmanned marine environments.

Cost pressures

The global offshore wind market is booming in China. Of the 1.2021 GW of new offshore wind capacity added globally in FY21. 80% was installed in China.

This is largely due to attractive feed-in tariffs, which end in 2022.

“China's offshore wind industry has entered a new era of feed-in tariffs, which puts enormous cost pressure on owner-developers like NEPCO,” said Mr. Kenneth K. Kennedy, project manager of NEPCO.

“ said Wang Rui, project manager of NEPCO. “We chose Hitachi Energy because of its expertise in offshore wind grid connectivity, the

and its ability to provide cost-reducing solutions through rapid delivery - a top priority for us.”

The Hitachi Energy solution receives power generated by 71 wind turbines at 35 kV and raises the voltage to an optimal 220 kV for transmission to the mainland grid.

The project is expected to generate 100 million kWh of electricity per year, saving 50.000 tons of standard coal and 4.6 million tons of CO2 emissions per year. It will provide enough emission-free energy to supply electricity.

Hitachi Energy is the world's leading provider of grid-connected solutions for the offshore wind industry, with an installed base covering nearly half of the world's AC offshore wind farms, including China.