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Borssele Beta prepped for sail-out

4C Offshore | Tom Russell
By: Tom Russell 20/03/2020 TenneT
The topside of TenneT's offshore transformer platform for the Borssele 3&4 (Blauwwind) offshore wind project is ready to sail out. The topside forms part of the Borssele Beta offshore grid connection project, which will link up turbines with the onshore grid.

The topside weighs 3,700 tonnes, with dimensions of 58x32x26 m. It converts power from 66 kV to 220 kV, with a total capacity of 700 MW. The offshore substation is expected to be operational on 1 September 202,0 following installation in the Dutch North Sea. The substation will export power to the high voltage substation in Borssele by means of two export 67 km long cables.

HSM Offshore was contracted for the full EPCI scope of the substation. The topside consists of three interior levels (main deck, utility deck, control deck) and an outer deck (roof deck). It is to be installed the on a 37 m high jacket foundation which was installed which weights around 2950 tonnes. On 22 March, the pontoon carrying the topside will sail through the New Waterway in the direction of the
Borssele 3&4 wind area.

The
Borssele 3&4 offshore wind farm is being built 22 km off the coast of the Province of Zeeland, and will be one of the largest Dutch offshore wind farms. Van Oord is performing Balance of Plant activities, consisting of the engineering, supply and construction of foundations and connecting cables. Borssele 3&4, also known as Blauwwind, is a 731.5 MW development that will consist of 77 MHI Vestas V164-9.5 MW turbines. Commercial production is expected in early 2021.

Marco Kuijpers, Director Offshore Projects, said: “With this platform, the offshore grid that TenneT is building in the Dutch North Sea is definitively taking shape. Borssele Beta is the second offshore grid connection built by TenneT. Over the coming eight years we will build a new offshore connection every year. I am proud that we are able to make such a significant contribution to the energy transition in which offshore wind energy plays a crucial role.”

The Borssele Beta transformer platform contains a monitoring station with various monitoring systems, such as nautical radars, meteorological systems (for wind, precipitation, clouds and temperature) and ecological monitoring systems for birds and bats. A similar Maritime Information Provision Service Point (MIVSP) is being installed on every offshore transformer platform by the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) in cooperation with TenneT. These monitoring stations will be used to collect unique and detailed information along the entire Dutch coastal area. In addition to the Coastguard, other organisations, such as port authorities, universities, the Dutch Meteorological Office (KNMI), and wind farm operators will make use of this data.

Forty percent of the Netherlands’ electricity supply is expected to come from offshore wind farms by 2030. TenneT will also connect wind farms off the coast of the Zeeland, Zuid-Holland and Noord-Holland provinces and the area above the West Frisian Islands to the onshore grid. TenneT will use the same standardised  700 MW transformer platforms and the same type of cable connection to the coast to achieve this.


For more information on offshore wind farms worldwide, click here.

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