EDF Renewables has selected UK technology company Sennen to deliver a software system that will improve the operational efficiency and safety of its global offshore wind projects.
Under a five-year contract, Sennen will deliver new technology which will enable EDF Renewables to manage operations across its offshore wind project portfolio in France and United Kingdom by using one centralised system.
The system will power the control room for the wind farms, maximising the use of technicians and vessels while ensuring safe working, and will allow EDF Renewables to plan ahead and respond to real time data so the team can make informed decisions without delay, the technology company said.
Sennen’s multi-site capability system was developed as a result of funding from the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP), which awarded the company a GBP 40,000 grant funding last year.
System roll-out will begin in January 2022, the company said.
“Our sophisticated technology allows operators to plan, manage and report on every element of a wind farm’s operations and then use the data to continually improve how things are done. We have developed something quite unlike anything else available, which has the potential to transform operations in the renewables industry”, said Paul Grimshaw , chief technology officer at Sennen.
In France, EDF Renewables is building the 480 MW Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm together with EIH S.à r.l., a joint venture between Enbridge and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and the 500 MW Fécamp offshore wind farm with the same partners and wpd.
The company is also developing the up to 600 MW Dunkirk offshore wind farm , in a consortium with the joint venture between Enbridge and RWE Renewables, and has been selected by the French government to participate in the tender for France’s first commercial-scale floating wind farm, in a joint venture with Maple Power.
In the UK, DF Renewables is the majority owner of the Blyth Offshore Demonstrator and the Teesside offshore wind farm , aa well as the 450 MW Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind farm , currently under construction in Scotland.