Avantha Installs Amrumbank West Transformer Substation

May 12, 2014

Avantha Group Company CG installed its transformer substation at the Amrumbank West offshore wind farm.

The renewable energy unit consists of 80 multi-megawatt wind turbines located 100 km off the German coast in the North Sea. The Amrumbank West offshore wind farm (which was completed along with CG’s consortium partners Fabricom GDF Suez, Iemants and GeoSea) is scheduled to enter service in the autumn of 2015. The wind farm extends over 32 square kilometres, and its 80 technologically advanced 3.6 MW turbines will give it a total capacity of 288 MW, enough to power 300,000 households.

Amrumbank West GmbH (AWG) is a 100% subsidiary of E.ON Climate & Renewables Central Europe GmbH. E.ON, based in North Rhine-Westphalia and Germany, is currently the world’s third-largest operator of offshore wind farms and one of the world’s largest investor-owned electric utility service providers.

CG designed, engineered, supplied and integrated all critical high voltage power equipment to connect the 33 kV and 155 kV networks, including power transformers, high and medium voltage switchgear as well as protection and automation equipment. The solution includes an innovative AC/AC connection link for offshore wind farms developed by CG. The technology, already in use at other platforms on the North Sea such as the Belwind wind farm, has minimal weight and low cost, and is designed for optimal and minimal maintenance compared with traditional high voltage AC or DC solutions.

In the operational phase, the transformer substation will gather electricity generated from the 80 turbines, transform the voltage to 155 kV, and transmit it to the HelWin converter station. From here, the power will be transmitted to the electricity grid operated by Tennet TSO GmbH. The transformer substation will be operated from the wind farm’s service station on Helgoland, and will be monitored and controlled from E.ON’s Offshore Marine Coordination Center in Hamburg. The transformer station is raised on a foundation that is anchored to the seabed, aside from a topside structure, which holds the transformers and electrical switching equipment. The facility also boasts a helipad which is built 42 metres above sea level.

Offshore wind is a major component of Europe’s target to harness 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources. Currently, there are 11 offshore wind farms under construction representing about 3 GW in power generation capacity. In the pipeline are projects amounting to 22 Gigawatt capacity, which have received the go-ahead to be built and developed. (Source: EWEA 2013 Annual report)