Siemens Wins Contract for Grid Connection for Offshore Wind Farm

Sept. 11, 2018

Siemens to design, supply and build onshore substation and offshore transformer modules.

Siemens will soon start working on its 10th offshore wind project in the United Kingdom--the Triton Knoll offshore wind farm. The new wind farm will be capable of providing sufficient clean and sustainable power for the equivalent of at least 800,000 British homes. As such, it will make a significant contribution to the UK's renewable energy targets.

Siemens Energy Management was awarded a contract from its German customer, Innogy SE, to design, supply and build the grid connection for the project. The wind farm, 32 km off the Lincolnshire coast, will have an installed generation capacity of about 860 mW after its completion.

Siemens will lead on the construction of a new four-hectare onshore substation at Bicker Fen, as well as offshore infrastructure, including two Offshore Transformer Modules (OTM). The Siemens OTM is significantly smaller in size and weight compared to conventional alternating current platforms and highlight Siemens' commitment to helping power developers improve efficiencies and the delivery program.

"This is an important project to deliver clean, green energy to UK homes and businesses and we're delighted to be a partner. We have a strong track record in delivering grid access projects and look forward to implementing our market-leading technology at Triton Knoll," said Mirko Düsel, CEO of transmission solutions business unit at Siemens Energy Management.

Innogy's Triton Knoll project director, Julian Garnsey, added: "I'm really pleased to have such an experienced company on board. Siemens share our goal to use our investments to the benefit of UK businesses and suppliers, and their involvement represents a very real opportunity for competitive regional and UK companies to benefit from our project. This project will trigger a capital expenditure investment of around £2 billion into much needed UK energy infrastructure."

Work is already underway to construct a new bell mouth entry point and 3.8 km access road to the new substation construction site. The onshore substation construction will start early 2019 and Siemens' engineers have been working closely with the Triton Knoll team leading up to the start of construction, taking part in the project's pre-construction Public Information Days.

Siemens is a global leader in offshore wind connection and has extensive experience in grid access. To date around 6,500 mW of offshore wind power has been connected to the grid by Siemens; a further 4,500 MW is contracted. Triton Knoll will be Siemens' 10th offshore project in the UK and the 13th to be connected with alternating current technology globally.

The project will be delivered from Siemens' Manchester office and it is anticipated a number of further supply chain contracts will be available for UK supply chain companies, with details due to be announced in the coming months. During construction of Triton Knoll, the project is expected to support around 3,000 jobs and 170 during operation.

For further information on Division Energy Management, visit www.siemens.com/energy-management.

For further information on Grid Access, please see www.siemens.com/gridaccess.

About the Author

Amy Fischbach | Amy Fischbach, EUO Contributing Editor

Amy Fischbach is the Field Editor for T&D World magazine and manages the Electric Utility Operations section. She is the host of the Line Life Podcast, which celebrates the grit, courage and inspirational teamwork of the line trade. She also works on the annual Lineworker Supplement and the Vegetation Management Supplement as well as the Lineman Life and Lineman's Rodeo News enewsletters. Amy also covers events such as the Trees & Utilities conference and the International Lineman's Rodeo. She is the past president of the ASBPE Educational Foundation and ASBPE and earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from Kansas State University. She can be reached at [email protected].