Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution (PTD) is connecting the Lynn and Inner Dowsing wind parks, located in the north east of England, to the British power supply network. With 27 wind turbines each, the two wind parks have a combined generating capacity of 180 MW. The wind parks, which are located about 5 km (3 miles) off the coast of East Lincolnshire, are operated by the British power and natural gas supplier Centrica Renewable Energy Limited. The turnkey power transmission and network connection system to be delivered by Siemens has an order value of about 17 million euros, and is scheduled to go into operation in December 2007.
As part of this order Siemens is erecting a 33/132-kV transformer substation (Middlemarsh) on the East Lincolnshire coast near Skegness. Delivering a turnkey system reduces the work involved in project processing, making it possible to connect the wind park to the grid within a short time. Siemens is also responsible for laying the 33-kV cable from the coast to the transformer substation, for the design of the 33-kV offshore cable network, and for the medium voltage switching stations. Nine wind turbines each are connected to six main power distribution circuits, via which the electricity is transported to the transformer substation. Laying of the cables is scheduled for completion by March 2007.
Siemens also drew up the system and design studies for optimizing all the electrical, electrostatic, dynamic and transient properties of the grid connection and as the basis for achieving the required network quality. The two 106-MVA transformers for the transformer substation come from the Siemens factory in Linz (Austria) and are designed for the special electrical characteristics of the wind park.
