NKT and Prysmian split multi-billion-dollar Dutch offshore wind cabling deal

Cabling contractors NKT of Denmark and Italy’s Prysmian have emerged as winners of a large tender launched by Dutch-German transmission grid operator TenneT for work on connection projects that will link upcoming Dutch offshore wind farms to the mainland grid.

Under the contracts, the companies will install five 525kV cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) HVDC (high voltage direct current) cable connections for five of TenneT’s 2GW projects, to be completed between 2028 and 2030.

NKT’s portion of the award, worth around €2bn ($2.12bn), is for the cable connections of IJmuiden Ver Beta, IJmuiden Ver Gamma and Nederwiek 2, with a total installed capacity of 6 GW, landing onshore at Maasvlakte in the port of Rotterdam.

Prysmian has been selected for the 4 GW cable links of IJmuiden Ver Alpha and Nederwiek 1, landing onshore at Sloegebied in the province of Zeeland. The Italian cabling giant said its contract is worth €1.8m ($1.91bn) in aggregate.

The scope of work in the contracts includes design, engineering, production, delivery, project management, offshore, nearshore and inshore installation of cables and all jointing works in subsea and land sections. Onshore cable laying should start in 2025, with offshore activities expected to start in 2026. NKT has earmarked its cable layer NKT Victoria (pictured) for the project, while Prysmian’s installation operations will be performed by its own vessels and in partnership with Belgian marine contractor DEME.

There are six wind farms in the IJmuiden Ver and Nederwiek Offshore Wind Zones with a total capacity of 12 GW that play an integral part in realising the Dutch ambition of having 21 GW offshore wind installed around 2030.  

Last May, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Belgium agreed to jointly install at least 65 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030. TenneT will account for almost two-thirds of this, with 20 GW each in the German and Dutch North Seas.