Italy: Prysmian Secures Dolwin3 Project Worth in Excess of EUR 350 Million

Prysmian Group, world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, has been awarded a new major contract worth in excess of € 350 million by Alstom Grid for the connection project DolWin3 linking offshore wind farms in the North Sea to mainland Germany on behalf of the Dutch-German grid operator TenneT.

The project involves supply, installation and commissioning of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) 320 kV extruded submarine and land cable power cable connections with a rating of 900 MW and associated fibre optic
cable system, comprising of a 78 km land route and of a subsea route of 83 km. The turnkey connection will link the offshore converter platform DolWin Gamma in the ‘DolWin’ cluster zone, located approximately 85 km
offshore in the North Sea to the mainland with the purpose of transmitting power from renewable source into the German Grid.

Coordination of the ‘DolWin3’ project execution will be from Prysmian Group new offices in Hamburg, using production from the Group’s centres of technological and manufacturing excellence in Arco Felice (Naples,
Italy), Pikkala (Finland) and Delft (The Netherlands). Marine cable laying will be performed also using the recently acquired team of Global Marine Energy (GME) that has particular expertise in offshore wind farm connections and is currently involved in major projects under construction in the North Sea.

Cables will be installed through environmentally significant natural areas both on land and at sea, including along the Ems estuary. This is the first DC grid connection project to follow this route. With the acquisition of GME, Prysmian Group has expanded its ability to offer turnkey products and services (including design, manufacture and installation) to better serve the growing markets in Northern Europe and to address the most stringent requirements and provide highly complex installation solutions. Completion of the HVDC system installation is schedule by December 2016.

“This achievement reconfirms the Group’s commitment to support the new energy policy set by the German government – the most important programme for the development of renewable energies in Europe,” said Fabio Romeo, Senior Vice President Energy Business, Prysmian Group. “Also thanks to the approximately 100M € recently invested to upgrade production capacity of our dedicated plants, Prysmian is ready to deliver its knowhow and technologies, to support the development of renewable energy supply in Germany and worldwide.”

The Group has developed a wide range of state-of-the-art products and technologies for the renewable energies sector, where Prysmian is acquiring a pre-eminent role in the development of HVDC cables for power transmission. This project marks a series of firsts: it is the first project working together with Alstom in this field. It is also the first project for the Group in the DolWin cluster. As such Prysmian are now providing complete cable systems for projects in all of the 4 clusters designated by TenneT in the North Sea. Following BorWin2, HelWin1, SylWin1 and HelWin2, the DolWin3 project – with its power rating of 900 MW – is at the highest rated level to be awarded for VSC (Voltage Sourced Converter) technology using extruded cables operating at the highest commercially available voltage level of ± 320 kV DC.

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Press release, February 28, 2013; Image: Prysmian