Offshore wind farms drive substations market

WORLDWIDE: The growth of offshore wind farms is expected to drive the High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) converter stations market, particularly in Europe, research from consultancy firm Globaldata shows.

High-Voltage Direct Current lines

The report, HVDC Converter Stations - Global Market Size, Average Pricing and Equipment Market Share to 2020, shows developments in offshore wind farms, especially in the UK, will push the HVDC market to EUR 11.4 billion in 2016 and predicts, from 2013 to 2020, it growing to EUR 67  billion.

The report highlights how positive polices by European Union countries in supporting renewable energy have contributed to the development of offshore wind farms in the region.

In 2012, 293 turbines in nine offshore projects, totalling 1.166GW of installed capacity, were connected to the grid in Europe. The majority of these installations were in the UK, Belgium, Germany and Denmark.