TenneT has completed testing of its transformers for the 700MW Hollandse Kust Noord offshore platform, following their installation within the topside structure.
Both transformers (400MVA/230kV), weighing more than 300 tonnes each, were successfully placed in the topside structure via the open roof of the Engie Fabricom yard in Hoboken.
Each transformer is nine metres long, five and a half metres wide and seven meters high.
After installation within the topside housing the transformers were tested by a team from Royal Smit.
With the “heart” of the platform safely in place, the Engie Fabricom/Iemants can proceed with the assembly of the last deck sections of the platform, TenneT said
While the steel components for the construction of the platforms are purchased and manufactured by the contractors, TenneT itself is responsible for purchasing the high-voltage equipment and systems, including the transformers.
A standard design, from Royal Smit has been chosen that will be used on all TenneT platforms.
Royal Smit has already supplied four virtually identical transformers, including for the Hollandse Kust (south Alpha).
At sea, the transformers in the platform will soon increase the voltage of the power supplied by the wind turbines from 66 kilovolts to 220 kilovolts.
The jacket for the Hollandse Kust Noord platform will be installed about 18 km off the coast of Egmond this autumn.
The ready-made topside will then be installed in mid-2022 and the platform is expected to be fully operational by 2023.