Monday 10 December 2018

Siemens has been awarded an order to connect the 950MW Moray East offshore wind farm to the grid.

Moray East is being developed by a joint venture company owned by EDP Renewables, a subsidiary of the Portuguese utility Energias de Portugal, ENGIE, a global energy and services group based in Paris, and Diamond Generation Europe Ltd., a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation.

Siemens will provide all necessary components, such as the offshore transformer modules (OTM®) which transform the output of the wind turbines from 66 kilovolts (kV) to the transmission voltage of 220 kV, as well as the onshore station which transforms the electricity into 275 kV for feeding it into the transmission grid.

This project will be the 11th offshore wind farm to be connected to the mainland by Siemens in the UK. Moreover, Moray East marks the largest offshore grid connection in terms of transmission capacity and order entry Siemens has delivered or been awarded in the UK to date.

The windfarm, 22 kilometers (km) off the Aberdeenshire coast in Scotland, will have an installed generation capacity of 950 megawatts (MW) after its completion. For the grid connection, Moray East will incorporate Siemens OTM®. As a world’s first, three OTM® will be linked together to cover the rated capacity of 950 MW for Moray East.

As an OTM® is significantly smaller in size and weight compared to conventional alternating current platforms, there’s no need for special vessels for transport and installation. Thus, this innovation will save time and money and highlights Siemens’ commitment to helping power developers improve efficiencies and the delivery programme.

Siemens has awarded fabrication of the three OTMs® to Smulders, who will be responsible for the design, fabrication, blasting and painting of the modules.

Siemens will be responsible for the complete onshore substation including three SVC Plus as well as the three offshore substation platform topsides. In addition, it will also install a 30km underground export cable to the onshore substation at New Deer in Aberdeenshire for the power generated.

Work began on site in September 2018 to prepare the location which will house the onshore substation. It is anticipated Moray East will be operational by April 2021.

Moray East represents a step-change in the delivery of renewable power in terms of cost and scale. The project will provide an abundant supply of low-carbon electricity at a highly competitive price. The 950MW offshore windfarm will generate power at £57.50/MWh which is less than half the price of power generated by offshore windfarms under construction today. The grid connection is one lever to drive down costs.

Siemens is a global leader in offshore wind connection and has extensive experience in grid access. To date around 7,000 MW of offshore wind power has been connected to the grid by Siemens; a further 3,900 MW is contracted. Moray East will be Siemens’ 11th offshore project in the UK and the 14th connected with alternating current (AC) technology globally.

This project also supports the local industry by providing supplies and services to Siemens. Local Scottish contractor, I&H Brown, has already been appointed to manage the site enabling work by Siemens. The project will be delivered from Siemens’ Manchester office and it is anticipated several further supply chain contracts will be available for UK supply chain companies, with details due to be announced in the coming months.