Iberdrola awards grid link contracts for Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm
Spanish utility signs cooperation deal with TSO 50Hertz on substation at 476MW project in the German part of the Baltic Sea
Iberdrola has signed an agreement with transmission system operator 50Hertz to cooperate on the construction, installation and commissioning of the offshore substation for its Baltic Eagle wind project off Germany.
The substation is at the heart of the grid link for the 476MW project, and will house the technical equipment collecting the electricity produced by the wind turbines and will connect to the German onshore transmission grid at Lubmin.
The Spanish utility has also awarded contracts to the Iemants-Fabricom joint-venture responsible for the manufacturing of all structural elements of the substation, and to Dutch marine contractor Heerema, who will transport and install the substation on the Baltic Eagle site northeast of the island of Rügen.
Siemens Energy is responsible for the delivery of all main electrical equipment for Iberdrola’s low-voltage part of the substation.
Iberdrola said fabrication of the parts of the substation is progressing at different sites across Europe with its sail-out planned for next year, and commissioning expected in 2023.
The substation will be made up of a foundation and a topside housing the transformers as well as electrical equipment. The four-legged steel jacket foundation weighs approximately 2,900 tonnes and will be fastened with two hammered piles at each leg. The topside consists of a closed multi-storey module of 5 decks with a total estimated net weight of around 4,250 tonnes.
Iberdrola had been awarded the right to build Baltic Eagle in a 2018 tender for pre-developed German offshore wind projects with a winning bid price of €64.60 ($78.91) per megawatt hour.
The utility has earlier said it plans to build a giant wind complex in the area that would also include extensions to the already operating 350MW Wikinger array to take advantage of scale and synergies during construction and operation.
Iberdrola also has a preemptive ‘right of legal entry’ for a 300MW zone in a German offshore wind tender this year. The rule means that Iberdrola could snap away the zone from whoever would have won the auction otherwise by matching the winning bid.
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