Equinor Contracts DNV to Verify Substation FEED Work for South Korean Floating Wind Farm

Equinor has selected DNV to provide verification services for FEED (Front-End Engineering and Design) of the substation for the 750 MW Firefly/Bandibuli floating wind farm in South Korea.

Announcing the contract for the South Korean project, DNV said that designing and installing floating substations present distinct challenges, including the need for high-voltage dynamic cables and electrical equipment that can withstand the movements of floating structures.

“DNV will leverage its verification services and expertise within offshore substations and floating structures to ensure the reliability and efficiency of this project. This includes independent assessment and validation of standards basis, design requirements and specifications with a focus on optimizing performance and minimizing risks,” the global verification and certification company said.

Equinor signed a memorandum of understanding with Ulsan City in May 2019 for the development of the Firefly/Bandibuli floating wind farm offshore Ulsan, planned to be built 70 kilometres off the Ulsan coast, across two sites, each covering 75 square kilometres.

The floating wind project is planned to be in operation in 2027.

In June 2020, two floating LiDARs (FLiDARs) were installed at the project site(s) to collect wind data for over one year as part of Equinor’s business feasibility study to develop the project.

In December 2021, the company started surveys to collect data for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

In April 2022, the developer selected the engineering and technology company Technip Energies to carry out a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) for the floating wind project, and later that year contracted COWI as Owner’s Engineer for the Firefly/Bandibuli floating offshore wind project in South Korea.