BorWin Epsilon Converter Platform En Route to German North Sea

April 22, 2025, by Adnan Memija

The offshore HVDC converter station of the BorWin5 grid connection system, including topside and jacket, departed from Dragados Offshore’s yard in Puerto Real, Spain, on 18 April and is en route to its final location in the German North Sea.

The BorWin epsilon platform will make a short stop in the Dutch port of Rotterdam, where it will be transferred to Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit, according to Dragados Offshore.

After the transfer of both jacket and topside, it will continue its journey to the installation site in the German North Sea.

The total transport time is expected to take approximately two weeks, and the installation offshore another two weeks, said the Spanish company.

Once installed, the activities of offshore hook-up, cable connections, and final commissioning and start-up of the platform will be performed before final handover to TenneT.

BorWin epsilon converter station is the starting point in the North Sea of the 900 MW BorWin5 grid connection system. There, the three-phase current generated by the He Dreiht offshore wind farm will be converted into direct current and transported to the mainland with an approximately 120-kilometre-long sea cable. From the landfall in Hilgenriedesiel, the electricity will be transmitted along 110 kilometres of underground cable to the future converter station Garrel/Ost in the Cloppenburg area.

Dragados Offshore is responsible for the design, supply, construction, transportation, and installation of the platform and the jacket under a contract signed with TenneT in 2020.

Its partner, Siemens Energy, is in charge of the design and supply of the HVDC equipment of the platform, together with the development of the connecting onshore station. After the trial operation, commissioning is planned for the end of 2025.