The first power transformer built by Siemens for the Beatrice offshore wind farm has left the factory in Dresden and is on its way to Rotterdam. The transformer is expected to arrive on site by end of May, the company’s spokesperson told Offshore WIND .
The transformer is the centerpiece of the Offshore Transformer Module (OTM) – Siemens’ lightweight offshore substation that can be installed directly on a monopile foundation.
The offshore installation for the grid access is scheduled for early 2018.
The switchgear for the Beatrice project will be manufactured in Siemens’ Berlin factory.
Last year, Siemens won a contract to supply, install and commission 84 7MW wind turbines, and provide grid access solution for the 588MW offshore wind farm, which will feed the power to the grid through Nexans’ export cable.
For the grid access solution, Siemens is delivering two offshore transformer modules, which are one third smaller in size and weight compared to a conventional alternating-current (AC) platform.
Offshore construction of the Beatrice offshore wind farm started in March .
The 588MW wind farm – developed by a joint venture partnership between SSE (40%), Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (35%) and Red Rock Power Ltd. (25%) – is expected to become fully operational in 2019.