Alongside their partner, Hitachi Energy, Petrofac have today announced the award of a second project under a US$14 billion, multi-year Framework Agreement with TenneT – the Dutch-German Transmission System Operator – to expand offshore wind capacity in the North Sea.

This second contract is for Nederwiek 1, a Dutch transmission station which forms part of TenneT’s landmark 2 Gigawatt (2GW) Programme. The project is to be executed as a standalone project, with Petrofac’s portion of the second contract valued at around US$1.4 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, we will undertake the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) of offshore platforms and elements of the onshore converter stations while Hitachi Energy, as global technology partner, will supply its HVDC converter stations, which convert AC to DC power offshore and DC to AC onshore.

Close collaboration

Since Petrofac announced the framework agreement in January, the company have been collaborating closely with Hitachi Energy on preparatory works, reserving production capacity for multiple platforms and HVDC technology and initiating the detailed design process for the first platform awarded under the agreement, Ijmuiden Ver Alpha.

Additional projects within TenneT’s 2GW Programme are expected to be awarded at approximately six-month intervals. These are the grid connections landing at Geertruidenberg or Moerdijk (Nederwiek 3) and Eemshaven (Doordewind 1 and Doordewind 2). The sixth project, the German connection LanWin5, will be connected near Rastede, Germany.

John Pearson, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Energy Transition Projects, Petrofac, said:
“We have been collaborating with our partner Hitachi Energy, and client TenneT, on the first project, Ijmuiden Ver Alpha. The award of Nederwiek 1 continues our focus on the standardisation and harmonisation of design and execution that will be central to the ‘design one, build many’ philosophy of the 2GW Programme. By aligning ourselves with TenneT’s objectives, we are creating a blueprint for the rapid deployment of large-scale infrastructure projects crucial to Europe’s energy transition”.

Niklas Persson, Managing Director of Hitachi Energy’s Grid Integration business said:
“As a pioneering technology and market leader, we are delighted to collaborate to deliver our HVDC solution for Nederwiek 1, combining world-class energy and digital systems. Our strong collaboration with Petrofac, based on an agile business model, scalable solutions and synergies among projects, allows us to join forces and support TenneT in its ambition to accelerate offshore wind deployment in the North Sea, granting European citizens more sustainable and reliable power.”

Crucial step to Europe's energy transition

TenneT’s 2GW Programme is a crucial step in Europe’s transition to a lower-carbon future. Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, and Belgium have agreed to install at least 65 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy together by 2030.

Two-thirds of this (40GW) will be accounted for by TenneT, with 20GW each in the German and Dutch North Seas. TenneT’s innovative 2GW Programme will be vital to reaching these targets and will provide a blueprint for the delivery of future offshore grid connection systems. TenneT’s strategy focuses on standardisation and fostering new contracting models within the supply chain to enable the creation of innovative and scalable solutions that can be quickly and cost-effectively deployed.

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