Germany: Northland Power has completed installation of the offshore substation for the 269 MW Deutsche Bucht wind farm in the German North Sea.

The Seaway Strashnov vessel completed installation of the jacket foundation and 2,700 tonne topside for general contractor Van Oord. The substation will transform the electricity from the turbines to a higher voltage, before it is transported to the BorWin beta converter station, which is owned by the grid operator TenneT. TenneT will convert the alternating current to direct current to lower the loss of power when transporting the energy to shore.

Northland Deutsche Bucht project director Jens Poulsen said: “With the installation of the offshore substation completed, we have once more accomplished another milestone on schedule.

“In the future, this offshore substation will convert the power generated by our 33 turbines, transforming it from 33 to 155 kV for further transmission.”

The next construction phase will be array cabling, which is scheduled to start in the spring. Turbines will be installed and begin operating over the course of the summer months. The wind farm is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year.

Deutsche Bucht will comprise 33 MHI Vestas V164-8.4 MW machines on 31 monopile and two mono bucket foundations.

Source: ReNews