Dutch transmission system operator TenneT has selected Aibel Keppel FELS consortium for a contract for the supply of high voltage direct current (HVDC) platform and onshore converter station of the offshore grid connection project DolWin5.
Image: Aibel/Keppel FELS’ new platform for DolWin5. Photo: Courtesy of Aibel.
The scope of contract of Aibel within the consortium includes engineering and procurement and Keppel FELS’s yard in Singapore will be building the converter platform.
After transporting the converter platform from Singapore to Haugesund, Aibel will install the conversion equipment, including commissioning, transport and installation of the complete offshore converter platform. ABB will supply the complete HVDC electrical power system for the project.
Aibel president and CEO Mads Andersen said: “With this award, we maintain our position as a preferred supplier in the offshore wind segment and strengthen our position in the ongoing energy industry transformation.
“Keppel and Aibel have cooperated on a project basis for several years, and we are pleased to jointly land this contract. Equally important is having the opportunity to continue our collaboration with ABB, a valued partnership we have had for almost ten years. It is exciting to see that we now succeed with Aibel’s new platform concept incorporating the latest generation of ABB’s equipment.”
Dolwin5 project will be installed in the DolWin cluster in the German part of the North Sea, where three other DolWin platforms are operating.
The DolWin5 project is expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2024 and will be operated by TenneT, with a capacity of 900MW from three offshore wind farms.
Among the platforms, DolWin beta is Aibel’s first wind platform. Installed in 2015, it is presently considered to be a powerful offshore converter platform in the world.
Similar to DolWin beta, DolWin epsilon is Aibel’s ‘Gravity Base Structure’ which is anchored to the seabed by gravity alone. It was developed from Aibel’s experience from semi-submersible floating platforms for the oil and gas sector.
TenneT chief operating officer Tim Meyerjürgens said: “With DolWin5 we open a new chapter in offshore grid connection technology: For the first time we will realize a direct connection between the wind turbines and TenneT’s offshore platform without any further substations.
“We are convinced to have found an experienced partner with the consortium of Aibel and Keppel FELS with whom TenneT will be able to accomplish this innovative project successfully.”