Siemens Energy and Dragados will provide high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission technology for three grid connections, dubbed BalWin3, LanWin2, and LanWin4, to transport electricity from wind farms in the German North Sea
Siemens and Dragados will provide HVDC transmission technology. (Credit: Siemens Energy)
Siemens Energy, together with its consortium partner Dragados Offshore, has won a contract worth about €7bn for three offshore grid connections in the German North Sea.
Under the contract awarded by German-Dutch transmission system operator TenneT, Siemens and Dragados will provide high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission technology for three grid connections in the German North Sea.
The three grid connections, dubbed BalWin3, LanWin2, and LanWin4, will transport electricity from wind farms in the German North Sea to grid connection points in the north of Germany.
The BalWin3 and LanWin4 projects will be supplied with a connection to the onshore grid in Wilhelmshaven, and LanWin2 with a connection near Heide.
Each of the transmission systems will have a 2GW capacity, to ensure a total of 6GW of offshore wind power to be transported onshore.
Siemens Energy will manufacture the main electrical components, including switchgears, transformers and converter technologies, at its facilities in Europe.
Its Spanish consortium partner Dragados Offshore will carry out the construction and offshore installation of the platforms.
Siemens Energy executive board member Tim Holt said: “In the global race against climate change, grid expansion must be able to keep pace with the accelerated expansion targets for renewable energies.
“Shorter contracting processes, large-scale tenders and standardization of solutions show how grid operators and manufacturers are already pulling together to get green energy to consumers faster.
“However, in order for the industry to continue ramping up capacity, all available levers must now be pulled at the policy level as well – from raw material and skilled labour strategies to further streamlining permitting processes at all levels.”
TenneT has awarded the contract, as part of its €30bn contracts for 14 offshore grid connection systems in the region.
The company has already awarded 11 contracts worth €23bn last month to Hitachi Energy and Petrofac partnership, and consortia involving GE and Sembcorp (SMOP), GE and McDermott.
The contract to Siemens-Dragados consortium completes TenneT’s awarding process for the sea- and land-based converter stations, announced in August last year.
Through the contracts, the company expands the offshore wind energy transmission capacity in German and the Dutch North Sea, as many as 28 large-scale power plants.
TenneT COO Tim Meyerjürgens said: “As the leading offshore transmission system operator in the EU, we have the know-how needed to make Europe’s goal of securing an independent supply of renewable energies a reality.
“To achieve this, the North Sea must be developed as Europe’s green powerhouse and quickly connected to the electricity grids on land. We are acting and investing accordingly.
“Our 2GW Program will help make green wind energy from the North Sea scalable and more cost-efficient – while continuing to minimise any impacts on the environment.”