3,650t power socket ready for sea voyage to the Borssele wind energy area
The superstructure (topside) of TenneT’s offshore transformer platform for the Borssele 3 and 4 wind area is ready for its sea voyage. Right on schedule, the offshore power socket, Borssele Beta, will provide access to the wind energy generated by the offshore wind farms Borssele 3 and 4 that are still under construction, and bring it onshore starting in 2020. The 700MW offshore station is expected to be operational according to schedule on 1 September. From that point onwards, the windfarm being constructed approximately 22km from the coast of the Province of Zeeland by the Blauwwind consortium will be plugged into this power socket. The electricity generated by the offshore Borssele 3 and 4 windfarm will subsequently be brought onshore to the high voltage substation in Borssele by means of two 67km long cables. The platform was built by HSM Offshore in Schiedam (NL).
Marco Kuijpers, Director Offshore Projects at TenneT says, “With this platform, the offshore grid that TenneT is building in the Dutch North Sea is definitively taking shape. Borssele Beta is the second offshore grid connection built by TenneT. Over the coming eight years we will build a new offshore connection every year. I am proud that we are able to make such a significant contribution to the energy transition in which offshore wind energy plays a crucial role.” Sandor Gaastra, DG Climate and Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK): “The construction of the Dutch windfarms in the North Sea is well on track. This is in part due to the coordinated construction of an offshore electricity grid by TenneT. The second offshore power socket will transport approximately 2.5% of the electricity used in the Netherlands from the wind farm to the mainland.”
On 22 March, the pontoon carrying the topside will sail through the Nieuwe Waterweg in the direction of the Borssele offshore wind area. At this site, a crane vessel will place the topside on top of the substructure (jacket). The superstructure (topside) consists of three interior levels (main deck, utility deck, control deck) and an outer deck (roof deck). The topside is 25m high, 58m long and 32m wide. The topside weighs 3,650t.