ABB has announced the installation of DolWin beta, the world’s most powerful offshore converter station capable of supplying 1,000,000 homes with wind-sourced electricity.
Located in the North Sea 45 kilometers off the German coast, the 320-kilovolt converter station has a 916 megawatts power transmission capacity.
Part of the DolWin2 project, the converter station will connect offshore wind farms in the North Sea’s DolWin cluster with the German mains electricity grid. DolWin beta will convert the electricity generated by the offshore wind farms from alternating current (AC) into high-voltage direct current (HVDC).
HVDC is superior to AC for long-distance bulk power transmission for a number of reasons; for example, vast amounts of electricity can be transmitted over very long distances with low electrical losses. It is the technology of choice for integrating renewable energy sources such offshore wind, desert solar or mountain-based hydropower.
The complete platform including substructure weighs around 23,000 tons and is approximately 100 meters long, 70 meters wide and 100 meters high.
After being shipped to its final location, the structure was anchored using a self-installing gravity-based structure (GBS) concept. The platform was slowly ballasted down to the seabed by filling the six columns of the structure with water and in the weeks ahead, the water will be replaced with gravel.
“Putting such a huge platform in place is one of the most delicate operations in the delivery of an offshore power link, requiring intensive pre-planning and cooperation between the stakeholders involved and we are pleased that this important project landmark has gone smoothly,” said Claudio Facchin, President, ABB Power Systems division.
DolWin2 is part of Germany’s “Energiewende” (Energy Transition), which forecasts more than 6.5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2020 and 15 GW by 2030. Energiewende has been viewed favourably by the nation’s citizens. In October 2014, a survey found that 92 percent of the German public approve of the transition.
ABB says it has won around 100 HVDC projects since it pioneered the technology more than 60 years ago. These projects represent a total installed capacity of more than 120,000 MW – approximately half the world’s installed capacity.
The ABB Group of companies operates in approximately 100 countries and employs about 140,000 people. In Australia, ABB is probably best known for its solar inverters, a popular choice in local commercial and residential solar power installations.
