TenneT has awarded NKT with a contract for the BorWin5 grid connection in Germany, for which NKT will manufacture 230 kilometres of 320 kV high-voltage DC XLPE power cables and carry out offshore installation.
Under the contract, valued at up to EUR 250 million, NKT will start producing the cables and cable accessories at the end of 2021 and will use its cable laying vessel NKT Victoria for offshore installation.
The 230 kilometres of BorWin5 cable line makes it the longest offshore direct current connection to date, according to its developer TenneT.
Starting at the offshore converter platform BorWin epsilon, the grid connection will transport electricity generated by the EnBW He Dreiht offshore wind farm through 110 kilometres of subsea cable to the landfall site in Hilgenriedersiel. From there, the electricity will be transmitted to the future converter station in Garrel/Ost through 120 kilometres of onshore cable.
A consortium between Siemens and Dragados Offshore will build the onshore and offshore converter stations for BorWin5.
The 900 MW grid connection, located off the coast of Borkum, is due to be commissioned in 2025, the same year the EnBW He Dreiht project is expected to be up and running.
The offshore wind farm, located about 85 kilometres north of the island Borkum and 95 kilometres west of the island Helgoland,
In April 2017, EnBW secured rights to develop the 900 MW project by placing a zero-subsidy bid in the first competitive tender in Germany.