Aker Solutions has won a contract from Renexia to design the underwater substations for the 2.8 GW Med Wind floating offshore wind project in the Mediterranean Sea.

Renexia, through its subsidiary Renext Solutions, signed a Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) contract with Aker Solutions, marking their first involvement in an offshore wind project in the Mediterranean Sea.

The agreement involves the design of eight modules, two for each section of the Med Wind project, to be laid on the seabed of the Strait of Sicily, at a depth of between 520 and 660 metres. These modules will house the cables for the wind farm’s floating turbines.

The renewable energy produced by the rotation of the blades will then arrive on land at the Partanna and Partinico power stations, via a system of submarine and land-based cable ducts.

“Aker Solutions’ approach has all the parameters we were looking for: solidity, breakthrough technology and environmental impact reduction. We are delighted that the partner selected will join us on this important and challenging path, which will culminate in the construction of the first large-scale floating offshore wind farm in the Mediterranean Sea”, said Paolo Sammartino, COO of Renexia.

The start of the design phase of these elements is said to be made possible by the results of oceanographic campaigns carried out over the past few months on the seabed where Med Wind will be built.

The collected samples and analyses, along with studies of sea currents, helped identify the most suitable areas for the entire plant, said Aker Solutions.

In addition, no sites of historical or archaeological significance were found anywhere near the area where the turbines will be moored, according to the company.

Proposed to be built off the coast of Trapani, at a site covering 850 square kilometres, Med Wind will be built in phases to reach its full installed capacity of 2.8 GW, which can generate about 9 TWh of electricity per year, equal to the energy needs of 3.4 million households.

In December last year, the developer selected Technip Energies to perform the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) for the project, with the scope of work covering the FEED for the floating foundations and moorings for the wind turbines and the conceptual design for the floating offshore substations.

The design of the floating foundation will be based on Technip Energies’ in-house floater technology INO15™, a three-column semi-submersible floater that is well suited for large series production.

Recently, Renexia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will see China’s Mingyang Smart Energy supplying 18.8 MW wind turbines for the company’s floating wind farm.

According to Renexia, using an 18.8 MW model would reduce the number of wind turbines at the project from the originally planned 190 to 148, which would further reduce both environmental impact and maintenance costs.

The project is expected to contribute to job creation in Sicily during the six years of wind farm construction and throughout the 25 years of subsequent maintenance activities.