Advanced transmission solutions for offshore wind farms

Future offshore wind farms will have large power ratings and will be situated much further offshore than current projects. The associated costs for grid connection will be high. This paper explores alternative methods of grid connection. By creating synergies with other applications for offshore power transmission, the total costs will be lower. Such synergies include the bundling of multiple wind farms, combination with offshore energy sources uncorrelated to wind, connection of oil and gas production platforms, and combination with interconnectors cables. High-voltage ac transmission through submarine cables has restricted application due to technical limitations. Alternative technologies are presented in this paper, such as high-voltage dc transmission, also in multi-terminal configurations, and gas-insulated transmission lines.