€30bn for a European grid in the North Sea
A €30bn series of long-term agreements for grid connections for North Sea wind farms has been signed in Berlin that will see significant local manufacturing of power systems.
The 14 contracts between TenneT and four partners will develop the North Sea as a hub for sustainable energy production, with the core of the converter components manufactured exclusively at European production sites.
Transmission system operator TenneT is working with Hitachi Energy, GE/Sembcorp (SMOP), GE/McDermott and Siemens Energy/Dragados on the Europe’s largest-ever tender award for energy transition infrastructure.
The three offshore projects will generate as much electricity as 28 large-scale power plants and follow the recent award of 11 to 14 converter systems of 2GW each.
- Wind farm supports multiple wireless networks across the North Sea
- EU pushes expansion of solar and wind energy, grid technology
TenneT has thereby completed the process of awarding contracts for the sea- and land-based converter stations for a total of 14 offshore grid connection systems, which was launched in August 2022.
TenneT had already awarded 11 of these systems at the end of March, eight of them in the Netherlands and three in Germany. Three more systems in Germany were added at the signing on 20th April, with all 14 systems to be built by 2031. The AC-DC converter components will be manufactured exclusively at European production sites of the consortiums’ members in all projects.
All agreements apply to both the offshore and onshore converter stations and the associated HVDC technology, which enables bidirectional conversion of direct and alternating current.
“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,” said Tim Meyerjürgens, COO of TenneT. “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.
Marco Kuijpers, Director Large Projects Offshore of TenneT: “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 realization 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.”
Pedro Ascorbe, CEO of Dragados Offshore: “Based on our recent experience and current backlog of developing 900 MW and 2GW HVDC platforms, we are convinced that we can successfully deliver these challenging projects and are excited to be one of the partners of choice to participate in this long-term cooperation scheme with TenneT.”
Philippe Piron, President & CEO GE Grid Solutions: “Together with our consortium partners Sembcorp Marine and McDermott, we are honoured to play a key role in TenneT’s critical infrastructure project for strengthening Europe’s energy security and reducing emissions. Our partnership with TenneT confirms that GE’s Voltage-Sourced Converter HVDC technology is now recognized as one of the most advanced in the world and validates our ambition to be one of the leading systems providers for electrification and decarbonization.”
Tim Holt, member of the Siemens Energy Executive Board: “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 standardisation of solutions show how grid operators and manufacturers are already pulling together to get green energy to consumers faster. 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 labour strategies to further streamlining permitting processes at all levels.”
Samuel Wong, Vice President and Head of Sembcorp Marine Offshore Platforms: “The Framework Cooperation Agreement is another extension of our renewables footprint in Europe. Together with our consortium partner GE whom we have established a strong and strategic partnership, we look forward to supporting TenneT’s sustainability commitment to advance the global energy transition. This award of three units of 2GW HVDC Offshore Converter Platforms represents our largest and most advanced offshore renewables project to-date. This landmark contract is a recognition of our Group’s proven track record in the turnkey construction and delivery of mega offshore platforms for all-environment operations in the North Sea. We are committed to working with our partner to achieve high standards of sustainability, safety and execution excellence to contribute towards TenneT’s decarbonisation objectives.”
Vaseem Khan, McDermott’s Senior Vice President for Onshore: “Today, we join TenneT and our partners in signing contracts to expand Germany’s clean energy production to meet its 80 percent renewables by 2030 target. We bring over a century of experience in executing some of the world’s most challenging onshore and offshore projects to this collaboration, utilising our own engineering and fabrication assets. We are proud and honoured to partner with GE Vernova and TenneT to deliver these projects safely and in the most sustainable manner practical.”
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