London-based
Aker Solutions has awarded ABB a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the UK’s 560MW Green Volt floating offshore wind project. Being led by Vårgrønn, and Flotation Energy, Green Volt is located 80km off the coast of Peterhead in northeast Scotland and aims to become the first commercial-scale floating wind farm in Europe.
When fully operational in 2029, the project is expected to supply 1.5TWh of renewable power to the grid annually, enough to supply about 555,000 homes a year — contributing to both the UK Government’s commitment to reach ‘net zero’ by 2050 and Scotland’s target for ‘net zero’ by 2045.
During FEED Phase 1, ABB will work with Aker Solutions on the complete electrical study for the facility, including system design and high-voltage equipment. This will see ABB lead the electrical infrastructure development, including integrated automation and telecommunications systems for the offshore platform and onshore substation; the company will also manage the integration of renewable energy into the grid, deploying advanced power and energy management systems designed to optimise operations.
ABB is already involved in seven offshore wind projects throughout the UK. These collectively represent 9GW of capacity and include Dogger Bank — currently the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Per Erik Holsten, ABB Energy Industries’ president, said: “We are proud to partner with Aker Solutions on the Green Volt project and deploy our technologies to help accelerate progress towards the UK’s 60GW offshore wind capacity target. Wind power currently accounts for almost 30% of the UK’s total electricity generation, with a record daily amount of 21.8GW generated last year, and projects like Green Volt are important to sustaining this momentum.”
ABB has over 140 years of history and more than 105,000 employees worldwide. ABB’s shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ABBN) and Nasdaq Stockholm (ABB).