EUR 5.5 Billion Offshore Cable Contracts Awarded By TenneT

Dutch transmission system major TenneT has awarded NKT, Nexans and a consortium of Jan De Nul, LS Cable and Denys to install 525 kV HVDC cable systems for ten projects. The total volume of the contracts for the production and installation of the ten cable systems amounts to approximately EUR 5.5 billion. With this agreement, TenneT completes the process of the large-scale tender cable launched in November 2022 for grid connection systems dedicated to a total of fourteen offshore and one onshore corridor project.

Awarded Projects by TenneT

NKT will realise the connections for Nederwiek 3 and Doordewind 1 and Doordewind 2. Nexans has been awarded a contract for the cable connections of BalWin3 and LanWin4.

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The consortium of Jan De Nul, LS Cable and Denys will realize the cable connections in Lower Saxony, to BalWin4 and LanWin1 and LanWin5 in the Rastede area. This consortium has also been awarded the contract for the TenneT part of the onshore 525 kV DC corridor NordOstLink in Schleswig-Holstein Germany, a partner project with 50Hertz.

The scope of work of the TenneT contracts includes cable design, engineering, production, delivery, project management, onshore-, offshore- and nearshore installation of 525 kV HVDC cables and all jointing works in submarine and on land sections.

The activities will begin in 2023. The expected start for onshore cable laying activities will be after 2025. For offshore the cable laying activities will be in 2026. All 2 GW offshore projects are expected to be operational by 2031. The NordOstLink project is expected to be operational in 2032.

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7,000 Km of HVDC Cables            

Tim Meyerjürgens, COO, TenneT, said: “Together, we will deliver around 7,000 kilometres of HVDC cable for fifteen on- and offshore grid connection systems in Germany and the Netherlands by 2032 with this award alone.”

NKT CEO Alexander Kara commented, “We are very satisfied to once again be selected as a key partner for the ambitious 2GW Program which confirms our strong position in the high-voltage DC power cable market. We recently announced the contract award from TenneT for Ijmuiden Ver and Nederwiek 2, which are also part of the 2GW Program and will be some of the world’s first offshore wind farms to apply the 525 kV XLPE HVDC technology to offshore power cables.”

Innovative Cooperation TenneT and Market Parties      

New to the 2 GW direct current (HVDC) solution based on 525 kV is that it requires only one cable system, and therefore limits the impact on the environment, on nature and the seabed. A cable system will consist of four cables, a ‘plus’ and ‘minus’ pole cable, a metallic return cable and a fibre optic cable. With a firm belief that the energy transition will only succeed in a spirit of cooperation, TenneT together with market parties started in 2020 already to develop a research and development (R&D) initiative for the 2 GW, 525 kV  HVDC grid connection system.

TenneT says that with twice the size of current connection systems, the new 2 GW standard needs an offshore cable system operating at a 525 kV HVDC voltage level and uses innovative extruded insulation types. The certification of cable suppliers in 2022 is a result of the constructive and intensive dialogue between TenneT and the relevant market parties involved. Together, the collaboration has provided insights on the required functionality and performance of this innovative HVDC system.

Recently TenneT had signed the EUR 30 billion deal to seal Europe’s largest-ever tender award for energy transition infrastructure.