The topsides and jackets for two offshore substations (OSS) that will connect the 927 MW Gennaker offshore wind farm to Germany’s onshore grid have departed the Netherlands for installation in the Baltic Sea.
The offshore substations, OSS Zingst and OSS Darß, form part of the OST-6-1 offshore grid connection developed by German transmission system operator (TSO) 50Hertz. Each substation has a capacity of approximately 450 MW.
The topsides and jackets for OSS Zingst departed from Schiedam, and those for OSS Darß sailed from Vlissingen on 9 October.
The HSI Joint Venture, comprising Smulders HSM and Iv, is responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, transport, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) of both offshore substations. The joint venture completed the fabrication and load-out of the substations in September.
"Delivering two complete offshore substations of this scale requires close integration across engineering, procurement, fabrication, systems integration and offshore execution. Seeing the topsides and jackets depart reflects the expertise, commitment and collaboration of the teams within Smulders HSM and Iv, together with our client and project partners", said Hans Leerdam, Commercial Director at Smulders HSM.
The Gennaker offshore wind farm, owned and developed by Skyborn Renewables, is located approximately 15 kilometres north of the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The wind farm will comprise 63 Siemens Gamesa wind turbines with a maximum capacity of 15.5 MW, for a total output of up to 976.5 MW.
Skyborn reached financial close for the Gennaker project in September and has firmed up several major supply and installation contracts.
EEW Special Pipe Construction and Dajin Heavy Industry will manufacture the 63 monopiles and transition pieces, and Seaway7 will install them. TKF and Boskalis are responsible for the inter-array cable supply and installation, while the 63 Siemens Gamesa turbines will be installed by Fred. Olsen Windcarrier.
Wind turbine installation is scheduled to begin in 2027, with the wind farm planned to be commissioned in 2028.