The jacket foundation for the 900MW BorWin3 offshore grid platform has been installed in the North Sea, nearly 130 kilometres off the German coast, Petrofac said.
Having been lifted and positioned in a water depth of approximately 40 metres, the jacket will now await the arrival of the topside for connection. The jacket and the accompanying pinpiles were fabricated by Heerema Fabrication Group (HFG).
“The safe and timely installation of the jacket represents another meaningful step forward towards the successful delivery of the BorWin Gamma platform. This is the result of well-coordinated cooperation and a spirit of partnership and determination established among the numerous parties involved,” Roberto Cecchini , Project Director, said.
“As we progress with the current critical stages of the project, there are still challenges ahead so we will remain vigilant, with a continued focus on delivery to complete the platform in line with our objectives and to the satisfaction of TenneT.”
The substructure for the topside was designed as a six-legged main pile jacket weighing 5,600 tons with an additional four skirt piles; overall weight of the piles being 4,800 tons.
Petrofac, in consortium with Siemens, was awarded the BorWin3 offshore grid connection project contract in 2014 by TenneT.
When operational, the platform will house an HVDC converter station that will convert the alternating current produced by the wind turbines to direct current before transmitting it onshore to the German national grid. The commissioning of the BorWin3 is expected in 2019.