Dutch transmission systems operator TenneT has awarded a consortium of VBMS and NKT Cables with a contract to supply and install two export cables that will connect the Borssele I & II offshore wind farms to TenneT’s onshore grid in the Netherlands.
The contract value of VBMS’ share is approximately EUR 70 million.
Separately, the option has been awarded for the installation of the export cables that will connect the Borssele offshore wind farms 3 and 4 to the Dutch onshore grid (Borssele Beta), subject to financial close.
The grid connection of the Borssele offshore wind area in the North Sea consists of two 700 MW connections, called Alpha, for Borssele I & II and Beta, for Borssele III and IV.
The contract for the Alpha export cabling scope entails the supply and installation of two 61-kilometer-long export cables. The cables will be routed via the Western Skeldt estuary and will come ashore near the existing high-voltage substation at Borssele, the Netherlands.
To minimize maintenance to the cables during their operational lifetime, Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V., VBMS’ parent company, will pre-sweep and dredge the shallow parts of the route, which will enable VBMS to simultaneously lay and bury the export cables at the required depth. The project is scheduled to be carried out in the period 2018-2019.
Arno van Poppel, Managing Director of VBMS, explains: “Awarding this contract enables us once more to demonstrate the added value of bringing together the specialist expertise and technology of VBMS, NKT Cables and the various disciplines within the Boskalis group. We are very proud to contribute to the Dutch government’s goal to produce 14% of total electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and look forward to successfully completing this prestigious project for TenneT.”
By implementing the National Energy Agreement, the Dutch government aims to achieve a substantial increase in the percentage of wind energy in the Netherlands’ energy mix.
To increase offshore wind energy capacity, the government has designated three zones in the North Sea for the development of new wind farms.