Substation Location Optimisation
Where you place the substation determines everything else.
The position of the offshore substation is often fixed early and shapes every design decision that follows. Rezo evaluates every candidate position simultaneously so the answer is grounded in numbers, not intuition.
The Decision
Get it wrong and no downstream optimisation can recover it.
The substation position sets cable distances to every turbine, determines the export corridor and, with AC export cables, can trigger discrete cost jumps large enough to dwarf every other saving on the project.
Often fixed early in development, before most engineering begins
Affects inter-array cost, export cost and lifetime losses simultaneously
Substation position alone can move the needle by tens of millions
What Rezo Evaluates
Every candidate position. Every cost component. In a single run.
Manual siting typically evaluates a handful of positions against headline cost estimates.
Rezo evaluates the full design space simultaneously.
Rezo evaluates the full design space simultaneously.
Inter-array cable cost
Routing and cable selection optimised from scratch for each candidate position.
Export cable cost
Optimal routing and number of parallel circuits evaluated for both HVDC and AC-connected projects.
Thermal loading limits
Cable ampacity limits considered across inter-array and export cables for every candidate position.
Seabed conditions
Installation costs and cable routing across the concession are factored into every position evaluation.
Every evaluation accounts for both upfront investment and lifetime operating costs. Learn more about lifecycle cost optimisation →
HVDC vs AC
Same concession. Same turbines. Completely different positions.
The optimal substation position is not a fixed point. It changes with your export technology, and the difference is not marginal.
HVDC grid connection
With an HVDC grid connection, the optimal position often sits more toward the centre of the concession. Export cost rises smoothly with distance, so the inter-array network dominates the decision.
AC export system
With AC cables, the optimal shifts toward shore. Reactive current grows with cable length until a parallel circuit may become unavoidable, a step change large enough to override everything else.
Seabed Constraints
The optimal position on paper may not be optimal in practice.
Cable routing costs vary significantly across a concession. The substation position that looks optimal on a map may not be once the seabed is accounted for.
High-cost installation zones: soil conditions such as sand waves or stiff clay raise installation costs and may affect the substation location
Exclusion areas: restricted areas, shipwrecks, and UXOs force detours that lengthen cables from some positions more than others
Existing infrastructure: pipelines and subsea cables introduce crossing costs that interact differently with each candidate position
Cross-Discipline Alignment
One number everyone can agree on.
Substation location decisions rarely involve just one discipline. Electrical teams optimise for cable cost. Foundation engineers push for favourable soil conditions and water depth. Without a shared basis for comparison, the discussion stalls.
Rezo calculates the full electrical cost across every candidate position and ranks them, giving every discipline a common, quantified basis for the decision.
Rezo calculates the full electrical cost across every candidate position and ranks them, giving every discipline a common, quantified basis for the decision.
Go Further
The full picture, not just substation location
Once the substation position is confirmed, every other decision in the grid connection design follows from it. Rezo optimises the full system from that point forward.
Lifecycle Cost Optimisation
The substation position sets the cable distances. Lifecycle optimisation determines the right cable for each of them.
Intelligent Route Finding
The position determines where cables need to go. Rezo finds the lowest-cost compliant path through whatever lies between.
Sensitivity Analysis
Export technology is rarely certain at early project stages. Quantify what is at stake if the decision goes either way.
Find out what your grid connection design is really costing you
Run your project through Rezo and get a defensible, lifecycle-optimised grid design that accounts for every cost, upfront and over the lifetime of your asset.
