Let’s take a look at how Boldyn Networks connects communities in ‘beyond urban’ environments – such as the world's largest offshore wind farm.

When it comes to creating smart communities, cities and towns probably first come to mind. But there are other kinds of community too: places where people need some of the infrastructure a town or city might offer, but are in a radically different environment. Places that present unusual challenges – both to the people living there, and to deploying connectivity.

In this blog, we’ll look ‘beyond urban’ – at an important environment we’ve become specialists in bringing connectivity to: offshore wind farms. Here, extreme natural conditions and the community’s functional needs present unique challenges we’ve learned to solve.  

Construction – on a mind-blowing scale

Life on earth faces a major challenge: we urgently need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Along with solar power, tidal power and battery storage, the ability to generate and harness wind power is central to combating catastrophic climate change.

With its long coastline, shallow waters and strong winds, the UK is one of the world's best locations for wind energy. And with a projected 40GW offshore wind capacity by 2030, the UK is set to solidify its position as the world leader in offshore wind. We’ve already connected Hornsea 2: a 165-turbine wind farm 55 miles off the Yorkshire coast. And now we’re once again partnering with the Danish wind farm developers, Ørsted, to build Hornsea 3, which will take Hornsea 2’s title as the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

Situated 75 miles off the coast from Norfolk, Hornsea 3 marks a significant step on the road to net zero. Globally, offshore wind capacity must increase from the 72 GW it stands at today to over 2,000 GW by 2050if we’re to have any chance of keeping global warming within the 1.5°C worst-case limit.

However, building wind farms isn’t easy. Even at conservative estimates, it is about ten times more expensive to build at sea than onshore. Fixed offshore turbines can stand up to 275 metres tall and carry blades with a wingspan of over 100 metres: that’s a third longer than a Boeing 747. A single rotation generates enough green electricity to power a typical UK household for almost two days. There’ll be up to 231 of these turbines at Hornsea 3. So we’re talking about a huge industrial endeavour.

To get new wind farms up and running – and then to manage and maintain them, to ensure a  secure supply of energy back onshore – means enabling whole communities of workers who live out at sea for weeks at a time. Constructing an offshore wind farm can involve hundreds of people. Offshore workers live and work on a variety of sea vessels that need to function effectively with many of the same amenities as hotels and modern offices. And to do their jobs effectively – and to meet their welfare needs – those offshore locations require connectivity.

Connectivity: transforming life at sea

Connectivity is vital at every stage of a wind farm’s development, and throughout its operation. In the build phase, it’s needed because modern construction methods and the machinery needed to build infrastructure on a massive scale require systems supported by ultra-fast, low latency internet networks – something satellite can’t provide cost efficiently. The same is true during the lifecycle of a wind farm: the service operation vessels (SOV) must be able to communicate with each other and with teams on the mainland.

Bringing mobile connectivity to wind farms isn't just about functionality – it's also about the health of the people who work at sea building them. They’re able to stay in touch with family and friends. Video communication reduces the impact of missing out on milestones such as birthdays. And they can access entertainment such as games and video streaming, making evenings spent in floating hotels less isolated than they were in the past. The ability to make phone and video calls also means that if a worker is ill while offshore, they can have a video consultation with a doctor and be assessed without having to make a boat journey back.

Bringing mobile connectivity to wind farms at sea means vessels and people can stay connected for a fraction of what the alternative, satellite communication, would cost. And while 4G is fast enough for application connectivity, phone calls and standard streaming, 5G opens a world of opportunity for remote, machine-controlled autonomous vehicles. Because of its very low latency, 5G signalling could soon be used to enable drones to inspect individual turbines blades at close range, even while they are turning. Or to deliver supplies and equipment to teams living at sea.

How we connect at-sea communities

Power generated by offshore wind turbines is carried down each turbine’s tower and under the seabed, through ‘array cables’ to offshore substations, then through ‘export cables’ to substations onshore.

We use the same cable system that connects offshore to onshore t0 bring ultra-high-speed digital connectivity out to sea, and to the wind turbines. Hornsea 3 spans an area of almost 700 km²: around four-and-a-half times the size of Liverpool. By strategically placing a handful of radio cells in carefully chosen locations around the wind farm, we can bring connectivity to people and equipment across a vast area.

Built to last

Wind farms are a critical national infrastructure. Wind farm energy has 99% lower emissions than fossil fuels and is absolutely vital in humanity’s effort to slow global warming. This means they must be extremely robust. When we deploy infrastructure to wind farms, we make sure it’s designed to last at least 35 years.

We test everything extensively onshore, from a coverage and capacity perspective. And we make sure our solutions are scalable. Hornsea 3 will be the world’s largest wind farm. We’re proud to be part of this achievement. It’s another example of Boldyn Networks’ brand vision brought to life – and unlocking the power of an interconnected future.

Interested in finding out more? Read our whitepaper Building smart places: A blueprint to thriving connected communities.