Hollandse Kust (west) Alpha Offshore Substation Set for Wind Turbines Link-Up
(west) Alpha offshore substation is officially ready for commissioning after receiving grid readiness certificate three months ahead of schedule.This means that wind farm operator Ecowende can connect the wind turbines, which will be located about 50 kilometers off the coast of Egmond aan Zee, to grid operator TenneT's 'socket at sea’ as soon as they are built.Whereas completion was scheduled for the first quarter of 2024, TenneT received the grid readiness certificate from DNV before the holidays in 2023.This makes the grid connection of the 'socket at sea' to the national electricity
The Curious Case of the 1,200 MW Transmission Size “Limit” in New England
of 2,200 MW Was Recast to a 1,200 MW CeilingAs policy makers and energy developers look to develop and interconnect large offshore wind projects in the most economically efficient and least environmentally impactful way, an issue has developed. A relatively recent limit, set in place by the grid operator in New England in a planning process document, states that no single system loss of energy, or “contingency”, can be larger than 1,200 megawatts (MW). This 2016 addition to ISO New England’s (ISO-NE) Planning Procedure No. 5-6 is increasingly creating consternation among
France's RTE Taps Fugro for Geotechnical Survey for Offshore Wind Substations in Mediterranean Sea
French transmission grid operator Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE) has awarded Fugro a contract to perform a geotechnical investigation for future offshore substations (OSS) at two floating wind farm sites in the Gulf of Lion in the Mediterranean Sea.Offshore Substations collect the electricity produced in wind turbines and convert it to a high voltage before being transferred onshore via export cables. Fugro’s Geo-data will provide insight into seabed conditions, to enable efficient OSS design and help derisk the project’s future developmental phases.Fugro on
Subsea Power Link Between Spain and France to Go Ahead Despite Cost Increase
Spain and 46% for France. The burden for Spain is slightly lower than what was agreed in 2017, according to a source at the Spanish regulator.Reuters reported earlier on Thursday that the two countries were close to an agreement over the distribution of costs for the project.Spanish power grid operator REE blamed the increase in costs on the "saturation of markets for the production of materials" and a shortage of companies with the technical capacity to build the cable. It did, however, see opportunities for greater profits."The expected profits of the project have also
First Sea Cable Installed for TenneT's West Alpha Offshore Substation
Jan de Nul Group and LS Cable & System have completed the installation of the first sea cable for West Alpha offshore wind substation for Dutch grid operator TenneT. The offshore installation contractors used the cable-laying vessel Connector and the remote-controlled cable-laying vehicle UTV1200 for the operation.Over sixty kilometers of cable were laid in the seabed between the Heemskerk beach on the Dutch coast and the jacket foundation of the transformer platform at sea.With over sixty kilometers of marine cable on board, the cable-laying vessel Connector from contractor Jan de
Offshore Wind: Fugro Wins Geotechnical Survey Gig in Denmark
Dutch offshore survey services firm Fugro has secured a contract with the Danish grid operator Energinet for geotechnical site investigations for the North Sea I offshore wind development.The Danish government plans to expand offshore wind capacity by 4GW by 2030, and the geodata acquired by Fugro will be used to inform future bids in the area. "This award follows Fugro’s success working on the North Sea Energy Islands project for Energinet throughout 2022, a project that is the first of its kind," Fugro said."Fugro’s geodata will provide crucial insights on the seabed
50-meter Section Missing from Damaged Nord Stream Pipeline
, have raced to protect other energy infrastructure from Norwegian energy installations to German power lines after blaming the Nord Stream leaks on sabotage, but they have stopped short of saying who was behind the ruptures that were discovered on Sept. 26.Danish power and gas grid operator Energinet said it had expedited inspections of its own pipelines in the wake of damage to Nord Stream 1 and 2 but said it found nothing abnormal.Russia, which built the pipelines with foreign partners, also says the damage was caused by sabotage but has pointed at the United States
Dutch Build Out North Sea Wind Farms, Test Floating Solar Panels
, ten out of the 140 turbines are already producing electricity. Sweden's Vattenfall made headlines when it won the concession to build the farm in 2018 without government subsidy.Electricity from the farm is converted to a higher voltage and sent to shore from a station completed in July by Dutch grid operator TenneT."That's a 700 MW platform," said TenneT CEO Manon van Beek, pointing to the HKZ "Alpha" station. Dozens like it are under construction."Only here in the Netherlands we're going to connect more than 20 Gigawatts (of wind power) before 2030," she said
NextGeo Taps PanGeo For Detailed Survey on Hollandse Kust West Beta Cable Routes
campaign. TenneT is no stranger to the SBI data, we value this and strive to continuously explore ways to enhance our service delivery. We look forward to building a strong working relationship with NextGeo to leverage onto future projects in the region."Worth noting, earlier this year, grid operator TenneT awarded Boskalis the Hollandse Kust West Beta export cable contract by TenneT, in consortium with Orient Cables (NBO).The contract scope comprises the installation of two 65-kilometer-long export cables that will connect the planned Hollandse Kust West Beta 700 MW offshore wind farm to