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Borssele Alpha ready for action

By: Tom Russell 05/09/2019 TenneT

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Dutch-German transmission system operator TenneT has announced the Borssele Alpha grid connection system in the Dutch North Sea is ready for operation. Built according to schedule and within budget, the connections system will be used to transmit electricity generated by the Borssele 1&2 offshore wind farm ashore.

The projects includes an 700 MW offshore substation, subsea cable and a new substation which has been built next to the existing 380 kV Borssele high voltage substation.

The Borssele Alpha offshore substation has been equipped with nautical radars, meteorological systems (for wind, precipitation, clouds and temperature) and ecological monitoring systems for birds and bats. A Maritime Information Provision Service Point is realised by Rijkswaterstaat (Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management) in collaboration with TenneT at every offshore transformer platform.

The equipment on the substation is expected to collect information along the entire coastal area of the Netherlands. In addition to the Coast Guard, port authorities, universities, the Dutch Meteorological Office (KNMI) and wind farm operators also make use of this data. The data will be brought ashore via TenneT communication cables.

Marco Kuijpers, Senior Manager of TenneT’s offshore projects in the Netherlands: "It is a fantastic achievement that this first major connection system for North Sea wind energy has been completed to schedule and within budget. The approach that we use in the Netherlands, which was developed in association with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, is now bearing fruit. The integrated approach that was implemented on behalf of the Dutch government under the responsibility of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the clear decisions concerning offshore wind energy locations, the innovations being adopted and TenneT’s standardised transmission systems are perfectly suited not only to the offshore wind programme up to the end of 2023, but also to the projects that have been planned to the end of 2030."

The next offshore connection after Borssele Alpha will be the Borssele Beta. The connection system will have a capacity of 700 MW and will be completed in 2020, serving the Borssele 3&4 wind farms, which are being developed by the Blauwwind consortium. After this, it will be the turn to Hollandse Kust Zuid Alpha and Beta, followed by Hollandse Kust Noord.

According to the Dutch Follow-up Roadmap for Offshore Wind Energy, a further 6,100 MW of offshore wind farms will be built from 2024 through to the end of 2030. These wind farms will be located in the wind energy areas includingHollandse Kust West, Ten Noorden van de Waddeneilanden and IJmuiden Ver. For the first two, TenneT will be using three standardised 700 MW platforms totalling 2,100 MW.

For more information on offshore transmission projects and offshore wind farms, click here. Alternatively, you can view projects across the globe using 4C Offshore's Interactive Map.

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Borssele Alpha ready for action

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