STX France AS has lowered the third and final block of the offshore substation topside, being constructed for the Arkona offshore wind farm, onto a transportation barge in the drydock of the company’s yard in St. Nazaire.
At the offshore construction site in the Baltic Sea, the four piles for the offshore substation’s jacket foundation have been installed, the company’s spokesperson said.
Weighing over 5,000 tons and as tall as a 5-floor apartment block, the offshore substation will form the centerpiece of the 385MW Arkona offshore wind farm, currently under construction by E.ON together with its partner Statoil off the coast of the German island Rügen.
Arkona will comprise 60 6MW Siemens turbines scheduled for commissioning in 2019. The offshore platform will be used simultaneously by the Arkona wind farm and the power grid operator 50Hertz.
The Arkona substation will collect the power generated by the wind farm’s turbines and transfer it to 50Hertz’s onshore substation in Lubmin via the 93-kilometre Ostwind 1 cable system .
The offshore substation will be transported by sea along the French Atlantic coast to the Baltic. The two-week journey to the installation site is expected to take place in early 2018.