DolWin6 Onshore Construction Starts in Emden

Transmission system operator TenneT has started construction work in Emden, Germany at the site of the onshore converter station which will be part of the DolWin6 grid connection.

The foundation work for the converter station in Emden will continue over the next six months with one thousand piles up to 24 metres long being drilled into the ground to provide a stable foundation, TenneT said.

Spain’s Dragados Offshore is responsible for the design, supply, construction, transportation and installation of the DolWin kappa platform, the centrepiece of the 900MW DolWin6 HVDC connection, and the accompanying jacket foundation.

Siemens will supply the entire technology for the DolWin6 connection, as well as design and build the onshore converter platform in Emden.

On the DolWin kappa platform, the three-phase current generated by the offshore wind farms is converted into direct current and transported to Hilgenriedersiel on the mainland by an approximately 45-kilometre long sea cable. From the landfall in Hilgenriedersiel, the electricity is transmitted to Emden via another 45 kilometre land cable where the onshore converter station and a transformer station will convert the direct current back into the three-phase current and feed it into the power grid onshore.

TenneT plans to have the DolWin6 connection commissioned in 2023.