TenneT signs contract for North Sea grid upgrade

TenneT has awarded contracts for the sea- and land-based converter stations for a total of 14 offshore grid connections systems, which was launched in August 2022. They will be used to carry power from offshore wind energy in the German and Dutch North Sea, which will generate as much electricity as 28 large scale power plants.

TenneT had already awarded 11 of these systems in March, eight in the Netherlands and three in Germany. The company has now added three more systems in Germany.

The contracts were signed with the Hitachi Energy/Petrofac co-operation and the three consortium partnerships GE/Sembcorp (SMOP), GE/McDermott and Siemens Energy/Dragados.

The Siemens Energy/Dragados consortium was awarded the contracts for the German projects BalWin3, LanWin4 (both with a connection to the onshore grid in Wilhelmshaven) and LanWin2 (with a connection near Heide).

The core components (the 2 GW technology for converting alternating current into direct current and back) will be manufactured exclusively at European production sites of the consortiums’ members in all projects.

The 14 transmission systems are to be realised by 2031.

Tim Meyerjürgens, COO of TenneT, 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 power house and quickly connected to the electricity grids on land. We are acting and investing accordingly. Our 2 GW programme will help make green wind energy from the North Sea scalable and more cost-efficient – while continuing to minimise any impacts on the environment.”

Marco Kuijpers, Director Large Projects Offshore of TenneT, added: “TenneT has also included in the contractual agreements for the contractors obligations related to safety, innovation, and sustainability, which will be successively improved during the realisation of the projects from today until 2031. For each topic, a roadmap is to be jointly developed. Each project is to be better than the previous project. The contract partners and TenneT are hereby taking responsibility for making the supply chain as sustainable as possible with a view to the future.”

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