The BorWin 3 Platform, a 900 MW HVDC converter station, to be installed in the North Sea at a depth of 40 m some 100 km off the German coast, is the fifth German offshore grid link order from TenneT for Siemens, and the second for Drydocks World to construct HVDC platforms.
Client TenneT, and project partners EPC contractor Petrofac, designer and technology supplier Siemens, and Dubai’s Drydocks World, signed an agreement yesterday that should see the rig operational in 2019, when it will supply nearly 1m German homes with 7.1GW clean power.
Petrofac said that in April 2014, a consortium of it and Siemens won the EPCI contract for the BorWin3, which, when complete, it will be one of the world’s largest, with a transmission capacity of 900MW.
Since 2009, Petrofac has gradually increased its involvement in the German offshore wind market, and in 2012 established Petrofac Deutschland. in July 2013, Petrofac was engaged by Siemens to provide support during the commissioning phase of two offshore wind converter station platforms in the German North Sea, BorWin 2 and HelWin 1, it said.
Yves Inbona, md offshore capital projects at Petrofac, on a stop in Dubai before heading to China, said: “Once design is complete and approved by the [German] authorities, the platform will be built to the highest standards.”
Khamis Buamim, chairman of Drydocks World and Maritime World, told Seatrade Global: “Although we have had other projects with Petrofac, this is one of the biggest [we will do with them]. We have already delivered the DolWin Beta and this is our second. Another three are being built in Germany.”
In June, TenneT took delivery of the Drydocks World-constructed DolWin Beta, which then embarked on a 50-day voyage to Norway for further work, before going into operation in the North Sea next year.
Buamim said he expected platform design to be complete early next year and construction to end in 2017. “We are targeting continuous work now until 2015 Q1. By then, all the designs will be done. The procurement process will start in August, and then we will move into the production stage. Construction will be complete in around 2017.”
Wolfram Breuer, director, TenneT, said German would have 6.5GW of renewable wind energy by 2020 and 15GW by 2030. He praised Drydocks World’s safety performance on the first platform it produced. “We like to highlight DolWin Beta’s excellent performance in terms of safety. Health and safety is also a very important topic for TenneT.”
As business continues to strengthen, Buamim said he hoped to publish company financial statements for the first time at the end of the year. He said DDW was preparing to start work on two offshore drilling jack-ups. “We are very pleased with our engineering and processes at the moment,” he said.
“Venturing into new technology is critical. That is what Dubai is all about. We know we can be trusted. We know we can deliver.”
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