Image credit: Siemens Energy

European TSO Amprion Offshore GmbH has commissioned Siemens Energy to supply the necessary technology for the converter stations of the DolWin4 and BorWin4 grid connection projects.

DolWin4 and BorWin4 will transport up to 1.8GW of power from several wind farms in the German North Sea to land, meeting the demand of up to 1.8 million inhabitants.

“The share of renewable energies in Germany’s power supply is set to rise to 80 percent by 2030. Therefore, building new wind power plants is important but ultimately pointless if the energy does not reach consumers. We also need to invest in our power grid to supply the country with sustainable energy reliably,” says Tim Holt, member of the Managing Board at Siemens Energy.

 

Siemens Energy’s scope of supply includes two converter platforms at sea and two associated stations on land.

The platforms will convert alternating current into direct current, which is then transferred to a high-voltage direct current transmission cable (HVDC cable) for transport. A second converter station on land then converts the electricity back into alternating current. The energy will cover a distance of about 215 km (DolWin4) and 280 km (BorWin4).

The two connections will be installed in parallel and are scheduled to begin operating in 2028.

Since the transmission grid in the coastal region of Lower Saxony is already heavily utilized by numerous wind farms, the connection points for the links are located far inland.

Siemens Energy will build the land converter stations near Amprion’s Hanekenfähr substation in Lingen in southern Emsland. The grid hub currently connects the Emsland nuclear power plant to the transmission grid, which is scheduled to be shut down at the end of 2022.

In addition to supplying the technology, Siemens Energy will also take over the complete maintenance of the converter solutions for an initial period of 10 years.