Germany: TÜV Rheinland Inks Testing Contract from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty

TÜV Rheinland has won an extensive test order in the wind energy field from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS), the industrial insurer of the Allianz Group. This order involves the testing of all loading, transportation and installation processes associated with the new offshore converter platform SylWin.

On this platform, the three-phase current generated at the connected wind farms in the eastern North Sea is converted to direct current before being transferred to the mainland through submarine cables. The maritime operations specialists from TÜV Rheinland will carry out tests and monitoring to ensure that the converter platform is safely transported and installed. “This order underscores our expertise in the offshore market,” says Dr. Matthias Portmann, wind energy expert at TÜV Rheinland. “Our monitoring services help to ensure that potential risks during the installation of SylWin are excluded at the outset,” says the specialist.

The SylWin converter platform is scheduled to begin operation in the North Sea by mid-2013 for the grid connection of offshore wind projects around Sylt and will supply up to 864 megawatts of power to the German electricity grid. The converter station has a total height of almost 80 meters and is 56 meters wide and 82.5 meters long. It is connected by around 160 kilometers of submarine cables and 45 kilometers of land cables. The platform is being constructed by a consortium comprising Siemens Energy and Prysmian Powerlink on behalf of the German-Dutch transmission system operator TenneT.

AGCS is covering the transportation and assembly risks involved with the SylWin project. “We are appointing a marine warranty surveyor who will monitor transportation and assembly. This is an important part of our risk management strategy for offshore projects,” explains Robert Maurer, who works for AGCS in Germany and is responsible for technical underwriting. Allianz is now involved in underwriting around 30 wind farms in Germany and abroad. In principle, all material damage that arises during transportation, construction and operation is insurable.

TÜV Rheinland offers a wide range of services for onshore and offshore wind power projects. On behalf of insurers, the independent experts test the safety of maritime operations during the installation of offshore wind projects. TÜV Rheinland offers type and component certification for wind turbines as well as project certification for offshore wind projects in particular. The company has extensive experience in conducting recurring tests on wind turbines. In the field of production and assembly monitoring and material testing, TÜV Rheinland provides manufacturers and operators alike with unbiased expertise.

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Offshore WIND staff, August 17, 2012; Image: tuv