Germany’s Power Grid To Get Boost From Offshore Wind
Wood, a global consulting and engineering company, has been awarded a contract by Dragados Offshore to deliver engineering design and provide regulatory support for the development of three 2-GW convertor stations that will transfer offshore wind power to Germany’s power grid. These projects will be executed by Dragados Offshore Spain in partnership with Siemens Energy.
A consortium of Siemens Energy and Dragados Offshore signed a framework agreement with German-Dutch transmission system operator TenneT to supply high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission technology for three grid connections in the German North Sea. The projects available through the agreement will ensure that a total of 6 GW of offshore wind power can be transported onshore. The contract value for the consortium of Siemens Energy and Dragados Offshore is close to €7 billion.
The three grid connections, named BalWin3, LanWin2, and LanWin4, will transport electricity from wind farms in the German North Sea to grid connection points in the north of Germany. Each of the systems has a transmission capacity of 2 GW. Siemens Energy will manufacture the main electrical components, such as switchgears, transformers, and converter technologies, at its factories in Europe. The Spanish consortium partner Dragados Offshore is responsible for the construction and offshore installation of the platforms.
Wind turbines generate electrical energy as alternating current. To transport the electricity from offshore wind farms onshore, it has to be converted into direct current. Siemens Energy’s high-voltage, direct-current transmission technology, which has been installed in offshore converter platforms, takes care of this. The platforms, steel structures as tall as houses that stand on stilts in the sea near the wind farms, collect the electricity from the wind turbines. Inside them, the alternating current is converted into direct current. An onshore converter station receives the direct current and converts it back into alternating current so that it can be fed into the German high-voltage grid and ultimately brought to consumers.
“Building on our strong engineering heritage and long-standing relationship with Dragados Offshore, we are delighted to be partnering with them on this project, helping deliver one of the largest offshore wind to grid connections,” said John Day, president of oil, gas, and power projects at Wood. “An integrated energy system is critical to maintaining energy security while achieving the world’s net-zero ambitions. This project is a significant step in creating the scale and infrastructure required to secure both. Our technical expertise will ensure successful project delivery as we design and deliver future renewable energy systems.”
“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,” said Tim Holt, member of the Siemens Energy Executive Board. “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 labor strategies to further streamlining permitting processes at all levels.”
