Works awarded for giant North Sea transmission project

TenneT has signed USD 25 billion worth of deals to build converter stations and a transmission network with a capacity of 22 GW in the North Sea, the European transmission system operator announced on Thursday.

The awards cover eight Dutch and three German grid connection systems of 2 GW each, which will be commissioned until 2031.

The onshore and offshore projects consist of a new certified cable system with a higher capacity.

A consortium consisting of Hitachi Energy and Petrofac was awarded the five following Dutch developments: IJmuiden Ver Alpha and Nederwiek 1 located in Borssele; Doordewind 1 and Doordewind 2 located in Eemshaven; and Nederwiek 3 located in Geertruidenberg or Moerdijk. The group will also build the German LanWin5 connection located in Rastede.

A second joint venture consisting of GE and Sembcorp Marine will handle construction of the three following projects that will be connected in Maasvlakte, Rotterdam: IJmuiden Ver Beta, IJmuiden Ver Gamma and Nederwiek 2.

A third consortium consisting of GE and McDermott will execute the three following German projects that will be connected in Unterweser: BalWin4 and LanWin1.

The projects are part of the transmission operator’s plans to connect 40 GW of wind power to high-voltage grids in the two markets.

“TenneT has the technical know-how, scale and geographical position to connect wind energy from the North Sea,” said Tim Meyerjürgens, COO of TenneT.

“This is one of the most important infrastructure projects of the century; the green transformation of the energy system is key for the decarbonisation of industry.