Dynamic Cable Topology and Connector Considerations for
Floating Offshore Wind Farms
Millie Anderson, ORE Catapult
April 24th & 25th & 26th 2024 FOWT 2024 - Conference 1
Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence
• Collaborative programme with industry,
academic and other stakeholder partners.
• The objective is to reduce the cost of energy for
floating wind, grow the UK supply chain and
drive innovation.
• In 2023, four strategic programmes were
launched to focus on high priority areas, these
are:
• Dynamic Cabling Systems
• Mooring & Anchoring Systems
• Environmental Interactions
• Construction, Operations and Maintenance
April 24th & 25th & 26th 2024 FOWT 2024 - Conference 2
Project Aims and Objectives
Project Aim
• Improve the FOW industry’s access to suitable, reliable and cost-effective dynamic cable technologies.
• To better prepare industry for the requirements of supply chain in terms of scale.
• Building UK supply chain strength and understanding high-risk components.
Project Objectives
• Identify which topologies will potentially be used for future FOW sites (e.g. daisy chain, fishbone, or star).
• Identify connector types required and their current technology readiness level (TRL) in the subsea sector (i.e. what is
going to be available in 2025 to 2030)?
• Identify expected failure modes and reliability levels of cable array topologies using subsea connectors versus
conventional daisy chain arrangements.
• Identify installation characteristics of the comparative array topologies for installation and disconnection (i.e. required
vessels and equipment, time scales, any additional risks and uncertainties).
• Compare purchase, installation and O&M costs for different connector and topology combinations.
April 24th & 25th & 26th 2024 FOWT 2024 - Conference 3
Dynamic Cable Topology Types
Comparison of a 900 MW farm, 60 x 15 MW turbines, 66 kV & 132 kV
Topology Type Schematic
Radial (0% and 100% redundancy)
Substation
Ring (20% and 67% redundancy) 15 MW
Turbine
Fishbone Redundancy
Cable
Star IAC Cable
Connector
Type
Branching
April 24th & 25th & 26th 2024 FOWT 2024 - Conference 4
Cable Connection Options
Hub Design (wet-mate)
Hub Design (dry-mate)
April 24th & 25th & 26th 2024 FOWT 2024 - Conference 5
Cable Connection Options
Pros Cons
Conventional Dry FOWT Well established and Costly and time-consuming connection,
Connection proven technology. disconnection and wet storage. More complex and
Relatively low equipment higher risk emergency release.
costs. Robust
terminations.
Disconnectable Dry FOWT Well established and Increased cost of mechanical connection and
Connection proven technology. watertight structure. Emergency release remains a
Enhanced disconnection challenge.
and wet storage.
Wet Mate FOWT Quick- Fast connection, Low TRL and high initial equipment cost.
Connection disconnection, and wet Reliability concerns relating to electrical wet mate
storage. connection. Lack of design and qualification
standards at the required voltage levels.
April 24th & 25th & 26th 2024 FOWT 2024 - Conference 6
Conventional dry
platform connection
Array Topology Design Assumptions
Site Conditions Wet mate platform
quick-connect
Parameter Conditions
Dry mate connector
Subsea Junction
(cable to cable)
Wind farm size 1 GW approximately Box (SJB)
Farm voltage 66 kV and 132 kV Wet mate connector
Spliced connection
(cable to cable)
Wet mate connector
(cable to SJB) (jumper to jumper)
Turbine rating 15 MW
Floater type Steel semi-submersible
Water depth 100 m
Seabed Sand or soft clay soil
Substation Type Bottom fixed, 2.4 km from nearest
turbine
Distance between floating 2.2 km
turbines
April 24th & 25th & 26th 2024 FOWT 2024 - Conference 7
Understanding Reliability Across Different Topologies
• Potential risks to designs:
Dynamic Cable Internal damages, cyclic loading of cables could potentially cause cracking in PE outer sheath,
metallic fatigue to screens and conductor; defects; damage during installation.
Buoyancy Modules Slippage from the expected clamped location.
Conventional top side Structural damage to the bend stiffener, latching of the bend stiffener connector, incorrect
connections installation of the termination
Novel designs (quick Subsea connections can suffer from temperature variations, water ingress and over loading
connection, from dynamic motions. Connections must be designed to restrict water ingress during wet
disconnectable boxes, storage.
subsea hubs)
• Challenge: Still too early to trend or identify common failure modes for novel designs.
• Solution: Industry experience and lessons learned to identify potential failure modes and areas for relaibility improvement, using knowledge
across the sectors to create example scenarios for repair.
April 24th & 25th & 26th 2024 FOWT 2024 - Conference 8
Levelised Cost of Energy Comparison
• ORE Catapult has own internal tools to determine the LCoE across different
site layouts and capacities.
• The comparison will include, the weighted average cost of capital (WACC),
contingency (7%), and the spend profile across the DEVEX and CAPEX of the
farm.
• Required component supply costs.
• Vessel hire used for transport, installation and O&M activity.
• Costs for the expected installation method for each connector type and cable.
• Costs for the expected average repair for each connector type and cable.
• Frequency of Tow to Port.
• Expected lost generation in terms of system availability.
April 24th & 25th & 26th 2024 FOWT 2024 - Conference 9
Main Considerations and Next Steps
• Radial array topology is the simplest and lowest-cost solution with no form of redundancy.
• A return line can be added at the cost of a long, high-capacity cable.
• Connector types could provide suitable jumper technologies able to bypass turbines for Tow to
Port functionalities – Further work is currently under way to determine the frequency and
efficiency of Tow to Port and different connector types.
• Variants on topologies with subsea connections include star, fishbone radial, and branching with
subsea connections. Connection/disconnection during Tow to Port will likely be from the
substructure.
• For all topologies requiring subsea connections, the TRL, cost, and reliability of the subsea
connection components are currently the main challenges.
• However, are not showstoppers and could provide value to dynamic cable repairs, Tow to Port and
installation time.
• The comparison will include 30+ variations of topologies assessing both the cost and the value
of subsea and substructure connections
April 24th & 25th & 26th 2024 FOWT 2024 - Conference 10
Further Work for Assessing Topology Design
• Deep Water Cable Design
• Design and compare feasible dynamic cable solutions, in 300 m to 2000 m water depths, assessing
various cable configurations.
• Assess the supply chain readiness to deliver deep water cable solutions for 2025 to 2030.
• Offshore Substation Design for FOW
• Compare the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of potential fixed, floating and subsea offshore
substation designs.
• Identify key technology and knowledge gaps for each system.
• Marine Growth
• Evaluate the effects that marine growth has on dynamic cable components and configurations.
• Investigate ways to mitigate the impact of marine growth on dynamic cable systems.
April 24th & 25th & 26th 2024 FOWT 2024 - Conference 11
Thank you for listening!
Presenter, Engineer: [Link]@[Link]
Project lead: [Link]-moran@[Link]
Any Questions?
April 24th & 25th & 26th 2024 FOWT 2024 - Conference 12