Siemens Hands Over HelWin1 to TenneT

Siemens has now handed over HelWin1, the second North Sea grid connection in quick succession, to TenneT.

The German-Dutch transmission system operator has now also put this grid connection into commercial operation.

Located around 85 kilometers off the German coast, northwest of the island of Helgoland, the grid connection can transmit up to 576 megawatts of clean electricity enough to supply more than 700,000 German households.

The Nordsee Ost and Meerwind Süd/Ost wind farms are linked to HelWin1. At present, wind turbines with a total capacity of around 260 MW are linked to the grid connection, with new turbines being connected almost on a daily basis. The Meerwind Süd/Ost wind farm is made up of 80 Siemens 3.6 megawatt wind turbines.

“This year we have completed the world’s first two large-category offshore grid connections equipped with efficient direct-current technology. We also intend to put the next two projects into commercial operation as planned within a few months,” stated Jan Mrosik, CEO of the Siemens Energy Management Division.

Siemens is working on five grid connection projects for TenneT, out of which BorWin2 and HelWin1 are in operation, while Sylwin1 and HelWin2 are scheduled to take up commercial operation in the first half of 2015.