UK: Petrofac and GE Support Galloper Offshore Wind Farm to Bring Clean Energy to United Kingdom

Petrofac and GE today announced a contract worth over £110 Million to engineer, construct and install a turnkey power system to efficiently connect up to 336 megawatts of clean energy from the Galloper Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of Suffolk, U.K., to the British grid. The contract was awarded by Galloper Wind Farm Ltd with the goal of helping meet the UK’s ambitious goal of generating 15 percent of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

“Petrofac is delighted to help Britain’s goal for a clean energy future,” said Yves Inbona, managing director for Petrofac’s Offshore Capital Projects. “Our collaboration with GE bolsters our efforts to help customers succeed in harnessing the power of the wind to provide communities with renewable energy.”

In support of this project, Petrofac will provide topside and jacket foundation designs, fabrication, transport and installation of the offshore substation and offshore logistics to support hook up and commissioning while GE will provide overall electrical system design in addition to:

• Onshore and offshore substation equipment and all related power transformers and gas insulated switchgear at 132kV and 33kV
• Two Static Var Compensators, each connected to the grid by its own power transformer, which will provide dynamic voltage support to ensure grid code compliance, a stabilized power supply and strengthened transmission grid to ensure efficient connection of the new wind farm to the British transmission system
• Protection and control for the safe operation of the wind farm including the telecommunications needed between the onshore and offshore substations and the wider network
• All ancillary and supporting electrical equipment such as auxiliary and earthing transformers, battery systems, back-up generators and low voltage systems

“We are proud to be a part of such a significant project – helping Britain to include more renewable power in its energy mix,” said Neil Beardsmore, North Europe Commercial Solution Leader at GE’s Grid Solutions, a division of GE Energy Connections. “The ability to effectively transmit and integrate Galloper’s energy to the British grid is essential to bringing efficient and reliable clean energy to UK households."

Toby Edmonds, Project Director, Galloper Wind Farm Limited said: “Once constructed Galloper Offshore Wind Farm will be capable of generating enough clean energy to meet the needs of over 330,000 homes. We’re delighted to have GE & Petrofac on-board with their excellent experience and expertise in the building and delivery of major electrical components. We look forward to continuing our work with them to realise the successful completion of the wind farm.”

The project is now fully underway. Construction will continue through 2016 with the offshore substation scheduled to be installed in 2017. The wind farm will commence operations in March 2018.