TenneT has completed the largest contract tender ever awarded for green transition infrastructure in Europe
The transmission grid operator has signed deals with seven industrial suppliers to build an offshore wind power transmission system that will be located in the German and Dutch North Sea. The contract brings the total for all project awards to around $30 billion.
TenneT chief operting officer, Tim Meyerjürgens said the company was focusing on developing the North Sea as Europe’s “green power house”
“As the leading offshore transmission system operator in the EU, we have the know-how needed to make Europe’s goal of securing an independent supply of renewable energies a reality,” he said.
“To achieve this, the North Sea must be developed as Europe’s green power house and quickly connected to the electricity grids on land. We are acting and investing accordingly. Our 2GW Program will help make green wind energy from the North Sea scalable and more cost-efficient – while continuing to minimise any impacts on the environment,” Meyerjürgens said.
Top representatives of the transmission system operator TenneT, the Hitachi Energy/Petrofac co-operation and the three consortium partnerships GE/Sembcorp (SMOP), GE/McDermott and Siemens Energy/Dragados officially signed the contracts in Berlin last week.
The total volume of the contracts for the components of the 14 systems amounts to around €30 billion. The result will be a transmission capacity of offshore wind energy in the German and Dutch North Sea that will generate as much electricity as 28 large-scale power plants.
The scope for each project includes offshore and onshore converter stations, along with TenneT's next-gen HVDC technology.
"Shorter contracting processes, large-scale tenders and standardisation of solutions show how grid operators and manufacturers are already pulling together to get green energy to consumers faster," said Tim Holt, member of the Siemens Energy Executive Board.
"However, in order for the industry to continue ramping up capacity, all available levers must now be pulled at the policy level as well – from raw material and skilled labour strategies to further streamlining permitting processes at all levels.”
The suppliers will start the preparatory work for the projects immediately to make sure that the system can be finished by 2031.
