Dutch-German transmission system operator TenneT, technology group Hitachi Energy, and services company Petrofac, have entered into early works agreements in support of TenneT’s 2GW conversion stations it is planning in the North Sea.
Under the deal, the companies will begin preparatory work and detailed engineering of the first two Dutch offshore converter stations for TenneT’s high voltage direct current (HVDC) offshore wind grid expansion.
TenneT is on course to achieve the 2030 offshore expansion target. Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium have agreed to install at least 65 GW of offshore wind energy together by 2030 announced with the inter-governmental Esbjerg Declaration. At 40 GW, almost two-thirds of this is accounted for by TenneT, with 20 GW each in the German and Dutch North Seas. At present, TenneT’s connection capacity is around 7.2 GW in the German North Sea and around 2.8 GW in the Dutch North Sea.
Hitachi Energy and Petrofac entered a collaboration in June 2022 to provide joint grid integration and associated infrastructure to foster the acceleration of the energy transition. Financial terms behind the Hitachi-Petrofac deal were not disclosed, but TenneT said it expects to award full framework contracts in the first quarter of this year.
