Dutch marine services company Boskalis has delivered the Hollandse Kust Zuid Beta substation topside to Tennet in the Netherlands after a long journey from Dubai, where it was built.
This is the second High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) offshore transformer station topside, built by Petrofac and Drydocks World Dubai for the Dutch-German transmission grid operator TenneT.
The 700 MW Beta topside weighs 3,950 tonnes. It was shipped to the Dutch North Sea aboard Boskalis' Mighty Servant 3 heavy lift and transportation vessel.
The topside will form part of the Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) grid connection that connects the offshore wind farm zone to the Dutch mainland at the Maasvlakte. The wind farm is being constructed by Vattenfall.
"We are [...] delighted that we were able to transport the topside of TenneT's Beta substation of the Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm onboard our semi-submersible heavy transport vessel Mighty Servant 3 from Dubai to Rotterdam, taking the realization of this offshore wind farm a step further," Boskalis said.
The topside will be installed aboard a jacket that was lowered on the seabed previously. Worth noting, a drifting bulk carrier in January hit the jacket, however, Tennet on Thursday confirmed the incident only caused minor damage, meaning that the topside can be installed safely and without delays.
Located 20 kilometers off the Dutch province of Zuid-Holland, the Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) wind farm zone occupies an area of 235.8 km2 and runs on a 1,400 MW of renewable energy.
When fully operational in 2023, the wind farm zone will produce enough renewable energy to meet the annual needs of more than two million households. Petrofac is responsible for the complete engineering, procurement, construction, and offshore installation of HKZ Alpha and HKZ Beta platforms.