German Transpower Places Order for HVDC Link to Offshore Wind Farms

June 24, 2010
A consortium of Siemens Energy and Prysmian Powerlink has received an order worth more than EUR500 million from the German transmission grid company Transpower

A consortium of Siemens Energy and Prysmian Powerlink has received an order worth more than EUR500 million from the German transmission grid company transpower. The BorWin2 offshore consortium will connect two North Sea offshore wind farms to the grid on behalf of transpower, a subsidiary of the Dutch grid operator TenneT. The Veja Mate and Global Tech 1 offshore wind farms, which will have a combined power generating capacity of as much as 800 MW, will be connected to the grid via a submarine cable link carrying high-voltage direct current (HVDC).

”The BorWin 2 turnkey offshore grid connection is a challenging project where we can apply our broad-based experience and know-how in this field,” said Udo Niehage, CEO of the Power Transmission Division of Siemens Energy. The Veja Mate and Global Tech 1 wind farms are located approximately 125 km offshore – northwest of the island of Borkum – and are designed to generate as much as 800 MW of renewable power. Siemens will supply the world’s largest Voltage Sourced Converter (VSC) system – using Siemens HVDC Plus technology - with a rating of 800 MW.

The converter will be installed on an offshore platform, where the voltage level will be stepped up from 155 kV to 300 kV alternating current (AC) and then converted to direct current (DC) at the same voltage level. The platform will accommodate all the requisite electrical equipment for the HVDC converter, primarily the converter itself, two transformers, four AC cable compensation reactors and high-voltage gas-insulated switchgear (GIS). The Siemens Wind Power Offshore Substation (WIPOS) will be designed as a floating, self-lifting platform. This platform will be towed by tugs to its destination at sea, where the water is about 40 m deep. By virtue of its design a large heavy-duty crane vessel is not needed to lift the topside onto its foundation.

Prysmian will provide complete supply, installation and commissioning of the submarine and land cable connections as part of a larger contract worth more than half a billion Euro, awarded to the consortium between Prysmian and Siemens Energy.

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