Function
The balance of plant includes all the components of the floating offshore wind farm except the wind turbines. It also includes the transmission assets built as a direct result of the wind farm.
What it costs*
About $3,140 million for a 1 GW floating offshore wind farm.
Who supplies them
UK suppliers for the Asian market:
A wide range of UK companies work on balance of plant systems. These are detailed in the relevant subsections below, but include:
Babcock, Balmoral, Bekaert, Bridon-Bekaert, Bruce Anchor, CCL UK, CRP Subsea, Enshore Subsea, First Marine solutions, First Subsea, Global Energy Group, Granada Cranes, Harland & Wolff, Hutchinson Engineering, Hydrosphere, JDR Cable Systems, Kent, Limpet Technology and Pict Offshore, Marine Power Systems, Strainstall, Subsea Micropiles, Swift Anchors, Synaptec, Tekmar Group, Venterra, and WT Henley.
Japanese suppliers:
A wide range of Japanese companies work on balance of plant systems. These are detailed in the relevant subsections below, but include:
Furukawa Electric Co., Hitachi Energy, JFE Engineering Corporation, Japan Marine United Corporation, Kanadevia Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mitsui E&S, MODEC, Nippon Steel Engineering, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Toda Corporation and Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation.
South Korean suppliers:
A wide range of South Korean companies work on balance of plant systems. These are detailed in the relevant subsections below, but include:
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, DSME, HSG Seongdong Shipbuilding Co., Hyundai Electric, Hyundai Heavy Industries, LS Cable, MASTEK Heavy Industries Co., Samsung Heavy Industries, SK Oceanplant, Wookyung Engineering and Construction Co., Young Chang
Key facts
Much of the benefit of larger wind turbines on a wind farm is realised by the reduction in balance of plant costs per MWh, as larger wind turbines mean fewer structures and less cable.
Balance of plant costs for floating offshore wind farms are higher than for fixed offshore wind farms, mainly because of the increased substructure costs and more costly dynamic cables.
Balance of plant costs for floating offshore wind farms are lowest in water depths between approximately 100 and 150 m:
- Costs increase at greater water depths because of the increased mooring and cabling requirements, but this increase is not as pronounced as for fixed offshore wind farms.
- Costs also increase in water depths less than approximately 100 m, as floating substructure and mooring costs increase due to the interaction of waves with the sea bed at these depths.