Presentations

Abstract

The planned development of offshore wind power in many countries means that a significant proportion of wind farms will be installed in areas where depths are over a hundred meters. However, installing large bottom fixed offshore substations at great depths becomes costly and requires the mobilization of special marine assets. In this context, exploring the option of Floating Offshore Substations (FOSS) is relevant and timely. France aims at 45GW of offshore wind power by 2050, RTE being responsible for building, operating, and maintaining offshore substations. Floating HVDC Offshore Substations are considered relevant for developing wind energy in the Atlantic Ocean where distance to the shore and water depth are key factors, driving supply and installation costs. To tackle the technology bridge that going from bottom fixed to floating assets, RTE has formed a consortium with 6 other majors stakeholders with complementary competencies: GE Vernova, NEXANS, Chantiers de l’Atlantique - Atlantic Offshore Energy, France Energies Marines, Fondation Open-C and SuperGrid Institute.  These players have launched RHODÉ project, which aims at demonstrating the feasibility of a Floating 2 GW HVDC Offshore Substation by developing and validating the necessary technological building blocks, while preparing the entire industrial supply chain to deliver such large-scale projects.  This project is funded by the French government through the investment plan France 2030 operated by ADEME, the French national agency for environment. This project is planned to start in September 2025 and will last until mid-2030.