TenneT’s 700MW high voltage connection for the offshore wind farms Borssele 3, 4 and 5 has been successfully installed a month ahead of schedule and is ready for use.
The Dutch-German grid operator received the “Grid Readiness” certification from DNV GL for Borssele Beta.
The offshore grid connection complies fully with the conditions set out in the so-called Offshore Wind Energy Development Framework.
The Borssele projects’ developers, Blauwwind (Borssele 3 and 4) and Two Towers (Borssele 5), will be able to connect their wind farms’ turbines to the high voltage grid via the Borssele Beta platform.
TenneT offshore activities director Marco Kuijpers said: “We are proud of the fact that the second part of the Borssele high voltage connection is already complete and was realised within budget.
“Despite all the Covid-19 challenges, we were successful in continuing with the works; a huge achievement from all the contract parties involved.”
The Borssele 3, 4 and 5 wind farms will have a total capacity of 700MW.
The electricity generated by the wind turbines will be collected at sea at a transformer platform (wall socket).
The voltage is converted from 66kV into 220kV.
The electricity will then be transported to land via cables in the seabed and is landed at an electrical substation at Borssele where it will be converted into 380kV.
TenneT is investing in upgrading the 150kV grid in Zeeland and the 380kV connection between the Borssele and Rilland high voltage substations to secure the transport of higher volumes of sustainable energy in the future.
By the end of 2023 TenneT will have constructed 3500MW of offshore grid connections for offshore wind farms.
The first 1400MW has been realised with the delivery of Borssele Alpha and Beta.
Next are Hollandse Kust Zuid Alpha and Beta, followed by Hollandse Kust Noord.
TenneT is using five identical 700MW transformer platforms for these wind farms.