TenneT has installed the second jacket for its offshore transformer platform that will connect the Hollandse Kust South offshore wind farm to the grid.
The 2,852-tonne base was placed by Heerema’s special lifting vessel Sleipnir on behalf of main contractor Petrofac.
The jacket is 50 metres long, 34 metres wide and 44 metres high and is anchored to the seabed by six piles, each weighing 162.5 tonnes. The 57.7 metre long piles were drilled 46.5 metres into the seabed.
The jacket left the fabrication yard end of May in the United Arab Emirates, where it was built. The jacket is the foundation on which the transformer platform will be placed. The connection for the wind farms will be ready for use in 2022.
The first jacket for the Hollande Kust South wind farm was installed in the North Sea in September last year. The wind farm is developed by Vattenfall, in co-ownership with BASF.
The first topside will be lifted onto the first jacket at the end of this year. The topside of the second jacket is expected to follow early next year.
Once the topsides have been lifted onto the jacket, the last systems will be connected, tested and put into operation. The cables of the wind turbines will then be connected and the wind farm is expected to be fully operational in 2023.
“The past year has been characterised by uncertainty and challenges due to the COVID pandemic. Not only for TenneT, but also for our contractors and suppliers. Nevertheless, together we succeeded in achieving this performance. We can be proud of that,” said Marco Kuijpers, TenneT’s Director Offshore Projects.