Renewable-energy projects need an external communications design that supports operational access, monitoring, security, telemetry and coordination with control or market systems. The correct solution may combine fibre, managed Ethernet, mobile, microwave or satellite. Define the operational boundary with the OT and SCADA teams, verify route resilience and plan the external connection early enough to avoid a late construction dependency.
Define the communications boundary
CROSS focuses on the external connectivity between the project and its required operational destinations. The internal OT, SCADA, protection, security and HV systems should be designed by the appropriate specialists, with a clear handover between responsibilities.
Agree where the external carrier service terminates, who provides routing and security, and how the project maintains remote access during faults or planned maintenance.
What the connection may support
- SCADA and operational monitoring
- Remote maintenance and vendor access
- CCTV, security and access control
- Telemetry and market interfaces
- Voice and corporate systems
- Weather, metering and asset data
- Software updates and data transfer
- Temporary construction connectivity
Technology options
Large or operationally critical sites may justify a fibre-based primary service. Managed mobile, microwave or satellite can provide backup, early construction access or the primary service for lower-volume remote applications.
| Option | Typical role | Key consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Fibre / Ethernet | Primary operational service and higher capacity | Route, civils, wayleave and lead time |
| Microwave | Remote primary or physically diverse backup | Line of sight, spectrum and path resilience |
| Managed mobile | Construction, backup or lower-volume operation | Coverage, independence and service assurance |
| Satellite | Remote access, backup or early deployment | Latency, visibility, power and commercial policy |
Offshore wind farms, landfalls and control sites
For offshore wind, the initial terrestrial scope commonly includes cable landfalls, onshore substations, operations and maintenance bases, control locations and backhaul into data centres or operational platforms.
Check where offshore communications terminate, how terrestrial resilience is achieved, whether the landfall creates a shared risk and how operational traffic reaches the required control and support environments.
Route and delivery planning
- Review nearby carrier networks before finalising site assumptions
- Identify private-land and highway sections
- Coordinate communications duct with wider civils where appropriate
- Avoid creating a common failure with the grid route or site access route
- Define chambers, ducts, entry points and internal containment
- Allow for wayleaves, ecological restrictions and seasonal access
- Plan temporary connectivity separately from the permanent service
- Set testing and operational handover requirements
Questions for procurement teams
- What does the external service need to carry?Separate critical operational traffic from general corporate use.
- What is the failure tolerance?Define primary, backup and restoration needs.
- Where does the traffic terminate?Control centre, cloud, data centre, vendor or market interface.
- What is already being built?Identify safe opportunities to coordinate duct and civils.
- Which dependencies could delay energisation or operation?Wayleaves, routes, access, power, equipment or carrier lead time.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions
Does CROSS design the internal SCADA system?
No. CROSS focuses on external carrier connectivity, route assurance, procurement and delivery, coordinating the boundary with OT, SCADA, security and HV specialists.
Can the connectivity route share the grid-connection civils?
It may be practical in some projects, subject to design, ownership, access, resilience and regulatory considerations. The shared-risk implications should be assessed.
Can offshore wind projects use the free desktop survey?
Yes. Provide the landfall, onshore substation, operations site or other terrestrial location and describe the required destinations.
Is satellite sufficient for an energy project?
It can be suitable for construction, backup or specific low-volume uses, but operational requirements, latency, assurance and resilience must be tested.
Apply this to a live site
You do not need to know the product before speaking to us.
Send us the site, project or carrier quotation and we will identify the most useful next step.