Sembcorp Marine, GE clinch contract for North Sea wind farm

Both companies to start the early design works this month.

Sembcorp Marine and GE Renewable Energy's Grid Solutions were chosen by UK's RWE to supply electrical transmission systems for Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, one of the world’s largest offshore wind farm projects, according to an announcement.

Both companies will start the early design works this month, with the full contract subject to the project’s final investment decision, due in Q1 2021. Moreover, the construction of the wind farm will begin onshore at its Teesside converter station site early next year, with offshore construction expected to get underway in 2023.

As the consortium leader, GE’s Grid Solutions will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of two high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter stations capable of transmitting 1,400 megawatts (MW) of power at 320 kilovolts (kV).

The HVDC transmission system will include the design, manufacture, installation, commissioning and maintenance of the offshore converter platform and the onshore converter station, including all ancillary equipment.

Meanwhile, the offshore converter platform will be built and installed by Sembcorp Marine. It will comprise a 10,000-tonne topside attached to a jacket foundation piled into the seabed at the heart of the wind farm. The onshore converter station will convert the electricity generated by the wind farm to 400 kV, before it enters the national grid.

The wind farm is located on Dogger Bank, the shallow area of the central North Sea, 195 km from the UK coast’s nearest point.

A significant element of all the primary HVDC equipment will be manufactured and fabricated at GE’s Grid Solutions’ Stafford facilities, which employ more than 1,000 workers.