Petrofac, Hitachi Bag Another Contract for TenneT’s Dutch Offshore Converter Stations

December 20, 2023, by Adnan Memija

Petrofac and Hitachi Energy have been awarded a second project under a USD 14 billion, multi-year framework agreement with the Dutch-German transmission system operator (TSO), to expand offshore wind capacity in the North Sea.

The companies will work together to deliver Nederwiek 1, a Dutch transmission system that is part of TenneT’s 2 GW programme, which consists of several high-voltage direct current (HVDC) offshore grid connection systems with a transmission capacity of 2 GW.

The project will be executed as a standalone project, with Petrofac’s portion of the second contract valued at around USD 1.4 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, the company will undertake the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) of offshore platforms and elements of the onshore converter stations while Hitachi Energy will supply its HVDC converter stations, which convert AC to DC power offshore and DC to AC onshore.

“We have been collaborating with our partner Hitachi Energy, and client TenneT, on the first project, Ijmuiden Ver Alpha. The award of Nederwiek 1 continues our focus on the standardisation and harmonisation of design and execution that will be central to the ‘design one, build many’ philosophy of the 2GW Programme,” said John Pearson, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Energy Transition Projects at Petrofac.

Since the announcement of the framework agreement in January, the two companies have been collaborating on preparatory works, reserving production capacity for multiple platforms and HVDC technology, and initiating the detailed design process for the first platform awarded under the agreement, Ijmuiden Ver Alpha, said the company.

Additional projects within TenneT’s 2 GW programme are expected to be awarded at approximately six-month intervals. These are the grid connections landing at Geertruidenberg or Moerdijk (Nederwiek 3) and Eemshaven (Doordewind 1 and Doordewind 2). The sixth project, the German connection LanWin5, will be connected near Rastede, Germany.

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In September 2022, TenneT issued a large-scale HVDC cable tender for offshore grid connections in the German and Dutch North Sea.

With 40 GW of new offshore grid connections, TenneT will account for almost two-thirds of the 65 GW offshore wind energy target by 2030 agreed by Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Belgium in the Esbjerg Declaration signed in May 2022.

The TSO will build 20 GW in each of the German and Dutch sectors of the North Sea with its new 2 GW programme.