A joint venture of Engie Fabricom and Smulders’ subsidiary Iemants has confirmed a contract with TenneT to construct an offshore substation for the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farm off the coast of the Netherlands.
The JV also confirmed it is the preferred contractor for the Hollandse Kust west Alpha and Beta platform.
The Hollandse Kust Noord work scope covers engineering, procurement, construction, offshore installation, connection and testing of the 700MW offshore transformer station.
This will consist of a 45-metre-high jacket foundation weighing 1930 tonnes and piles weighing 870 tonnes to be placed in a water depth of 24 metres.
A topside comprising four decks and weighing approximately 4100 tonnes will also be built.
The topside will be 47 metres long, 35 metres wide and 25 metres high – excluding antenna tower and top deck crane.
Iemants is responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction of the steel structures for both the topside and jacket.
All works will be carried out inhouse at Smulders’ production facilities in Arendonk, Balen and Hoboken in Belgium.
The topside will be transferred to the Engie Fabricom yard for final assembly.
The jacket will be assembled at the yard in Vlissingen in the Netherlands.
Engie Fabricom, is responsible for the engineering, procurement, integration, construction and testing of all LV, MV, HV and auxiliary systems for the jacket and topside.
The engineering, procurement, construction, integration and onshore testing for the topside systems will take place at Engie Fabricom’s yard in Hoboken.
For the jacket these activities will take place in Vlissingen.
Engineering works have started, and construction for the topside and jacket will kick off in October 2020.
Load-out of the jacket is planned for the fall of 2021. The topside is scheduled to leave the yard in Hoboken in the spring of 2022.
TenneT project lead for the Hollandse Kust Noord platform Guus Siteur said: “With this contract TenneT builds upon its strategy for cost effective, standard offshore transformer stations to enable the Dutch energy transition.
“During the tender phase additional effort was taken in respect of environmental, quality and safety aspects.
“TenneT is looking forward to a positive cooperation the Engie Fabricom – Iemants joint venture which has long experience in the offshore transformer station construction field.”
JV project manager Hollandse Kust Noord Hans Schipper said: “We are proud to have been selected by TenneT for the development of the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore transformer station, which is part of a green energy development strategy for both Engie Fabricom and Smulders.
“We are confident that the expertise of TenneT in these highly standardised 700MW offshore transformer stations, in combination with the wide experience of the joint venture in developing offshore transformer stations over the last decades, will result in a safe and successful project conclusion.
“We are looking forward to working together with TenneT and wish to develop a long-lasting relationship, in the offshore wind industry.”