The first steel has been cut for the jacket foundation that will support the BalWin delta offshore converter platform in the German North Sea.
The jacket foundation, which weighs around 13,000 tonnes, will be delivered under a contract GE Vernova and McDermott International signed with the German transmission system operator (TSO) TenneT in 2023.
Under the contract, McDermott International is responsible for the design, fabrication, installation, and commissioning of the offshore converter substation platforms for two 2 GW HVDC grid connection systems, BalWin4 and LanWin1.
Fabrication of the BalWin delta topside began at McDermott’s yard in Batam, Indonesia, in June.
BalWin delta is part of the BalWin4 offshore grid connection project, whose central piece, the platform, is planned to be installed in the North Sea in 2028.
The consortium of Jan De Nul, LS Cable, and Denys will realise the cable connections in Lower Saxony, to BalWin4 and LanWin1, both to be connected in the Unterweser area, and LanWin5 in the Rastede area, Germany.
From the end of 2029, BalWin delta will bring offshore wind-generated renewable energy to shore with a transmission capacity of 2 GW.