Wärtsilä Kit for Hornsea Project One Reactive Compensation Station

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has signed a contract with Babcock International Group plc to design and build switchboards and distribution boards for the world’s first offshore reactive compensation station, part of the 1.2GW Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm project.

DONG Energy’s Hornsea Project One is located 120 kilometres off the Yorkshire coast in Northern England and will span an area of approximately 407 square kilometres.

Work to construct the reactive compensation station is ongoing and is set to be completed by engineering support services company Babcock in 2018. It is expected to be operational in 2020.

Wärtsilä UK Ltd will supply the Wärtsilä Low voltage switchboards for the offshore reactive compensation station.

“Our Electrical & Automation business has long held a reputation for designing and building high quality switchboards. We are particularly well-known in the marine and oil & gas sectors globally, and have been actively expanding our customer base. The award of this contract together with other recent successes in the hydro-electric industry demonstrates our ability to support the renewable energy sector,” said Andy Dickinson, Managing Director of Wärtsilä UK Ltd.

The reactive compensation station enables the high voltage AC system to work with cable lengths longer than those previously used for offshore wind, and will be located between the offshore wind farm and shore.

“Babcock is delighted to be working with Wärtsilä on this project. It is an important member of our supply chain, and its switchboards and distribution boards will play an important role in the successful delivery of the world’s first offshore reactive compensation station being built at Babcock Rosyth for the wind farm,” said Ian Donnelly, Managing Director of Babcock’s Rosyth site.