Transforming offshore wind with DONG Energy

Atkins has been a partner to DONG Energy since 2013 helping to transform the offshore wind industry through standardisation of design and cost reduction.

We are helping to enable a production line approach to fabrication, rather than a bespoke solution each time, driving down the whole life costs to DONG Energy whilst maintaining the highest safety

Atkins has contracts for detailed engineering design of offshore substation platforms (OSPs) at DONG Energy construction projects around the UK;

• one substation at the Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm in Liverpool Bay
• two substations at the Race Bank offshore wind farm off the north coast of Norfolk
• and two substations at the Walney Extension offshore wind farm off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness in the Irish Sea.

In 2015, we were awarded a contract for engineering design services for three offshore substations with helidecks and refuelling systems for DONG Energy’s proposed Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm, taking the total number of OSPs that Atkins is designing to eight.

With over 30 years looking after oil and gas offshore structures, we can directly apply lessons learned in terms of construction and operation in deeper waters, foundation and jacket technology, the use of heavy-lift vessels and asset maintenance offshore. Our UK based team will be working together with DONG Energy to apply the lessons on these large, complex projects enabling us to set new benchmarks in stripping out any fat for an industry that needs to become more and more competitive with other energy sources.

DONG Energy is progressing to a standardised wind farm, reducing the costs of offshore wind energy by 35 - 40 percent for projects getting the go-ahead in 2020.