CG won the contract for the grid connection study and supply of a 275-MVA main transformer and two 650-MVAr reactors at the Northwind offshore wind farm in Belgium.
The Northwind wind farm, previously named “Eldepasco,” will have an installed production capacity of 216 MW. The connection between the offshore high-voltage substation and the onshore grid connection will be realized with a 220-kV submarine export cable. Eventually, the Northwind wind farm will be connected to the future 165-MW Belwind 2 wind farm, which is also situated in front of the Belgian coast. For this connection, a second 220-kV subsea cable with a length of approximately 10 km (6.2 miles) will be installed.
CG's scope in this project would be to design and supply the high-voltage installation, including all necessary measures to comply with Belgian transmission system operator ELIA's grid connection requirements. This comprises mainly the offshore high-voltage substation and the onshore location, including all auxiliary systems to ensure proper functioning of the high-voltage installation. CG also will provide the main transformer (225/33 kV, 275 MVA) and two reactors (33 kV, 65 MVAr) for reactive power compensation.
The mechanical construction of the offshore platform will take place in Aalborg, Denmark, on the construction site of Bladt Industries. Then the platform will be shipped to Belgium for its final destination on a monopole foundation. The offshore substation is expected to be energized in September 2013.
This is the fifth contract for CG, following the earlier Belwind fase 1, EON Amrumbank West, WPD Butendiek and EON Humber Gateway contracts. This contract marks CG's growing expertise and experience in the developing offshore wind market in Europe and creates substantial pull through benefits and valued references for other supporting products of CG.
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