TenneT offshore platform is shipped from Dubai

Bayreuth, Germany - One of the largest offshore converter platforms in the world set off on the long journey to the North Sea from Dubai. The transmission system operator TenneT had the platform, which is 101 m long, 74 m wide, 90 m high and weighs 23000 tonnes, constructed in Dubai.

The converter platform is the heart of the DolWin2 offshore grid connection, which will be transmitting 900 meg-awatt of offshore wind power from the North Sea off the Lower Saxony coast to the mainland by 2015. "The development of offshore wind energy is making progress," said Lex Hartman, managing director of TenneT TSO GmbH. TenneT will be completing a total of six offshore grid connection projects during 2014 and 2015. "By the end of 2015 we will already be transmitting more than 5100 megawatt of wind energy to the mainland from the North Sea, and it will be 7100 megawatt by 2019. At this transmission capacity we will be fulfilling the requirements ensuring that the German government's objectives can be achieved and that offshore wind energy can play an important part in the energy supply for the future ahead of time."

After the sail out from the Dubai dockyard, the converter platform will take a route across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope and on into the Atlantic to Norway, where it will be prepared for installation in the North Sea. TenneT awarded the contract for erecting the offshore connection to ABB. The converter platform was constructed by ABB and Aibel in addition to Dubai Dry Docks "I would like to thank the participating companies of ABB, Aibel and Dubai Dry Docks for their excellent cooperation during the platform construction. Together, we have put an important project on the road," said Lex Hartman.

The converter platform is a central component of the Dol-Win2 grid connection. It will be installed at sea and converts the three-phase electric power produced by the offshore wind turbines into direct current. From there, the direct current is then transmitted via a 45 km long submarine cable routed past Norderney and then via a 90 km under-ground cable to the transformer substation in D

Source: IWR Online, 12 Jun 2014