Drydocks World-Dubai, the service provider for shipping, offshore, oil and gas sectors, said it has completed the construction of the topside for a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) platform named BorWin Gamma that will power more than one million households in Germany.

It will transmit approximately 900 MW of electricity from connected offshore wind farms in the North Sea to mainland Germany, providing enough clean wind power to supply the annual electricity consumption of more than one million German households.

The over 18,000 tonnes topside will set sail for the North Sea on a heavy lift vessel and will be integrated with the jacket nearly 130 km off the German coast, in a water depth of approximately 40 m, said the UAE-based frim in a statement.

Scheduled to go online next year, TenneT ordered the HVDC link BorWin Gamma from a consortium comprising Petrofac and Siemens.

As per the deal, Siemens had supplied the complete HVDC converter technology and main electrical equipment for efficient direct-current transmission, while Petrofac was responsible for the complete engineering, construction and offshore installation of the platform, it stated.

The British oilfield services firm had awarded the contract to Drydocks World for fabrication, commissioning and load-out of the topside.

On the successful project completion, COO Captain Rado Antolovic said: "Drydocks World has been involved in other projects for the German North Sea, having previously built the world’s largest-capacity HVDC platform DolWin beta, and we are pleased to have the opportunity again to work on this innovative renewable technology."

"The BorWin Gamma project demonstrates our ability to construct complex projects according to the highest European quality standards and shows the yard’s diverse capabilities, which extend beyond repair, conversion, oil and gas, to large-scale offshore renewable fabrication," noted Antolovic.

"Petrofac awarded Drydocks World the contract to build the platform in 2014 and we have worked closely to deploy our mutual expertise in delivering the project safely and effectively," he stated.

"We look forward to establishing new opportunities for growth and sustainability in the future, as the renewables sector is set to grow over the next decade, and we are committed to contributing to sustainable energy development in Dubai and worldwide," he added.

Petrofac COO (Engineering and Construction) George Salibi dubbed the safe and timely completion of the platform topside fabrication as a key milestone in this unique project.

"The collective efforts to build a top-class and reliable topside such as this cannot be underestimated and a key factor has been the collaborative approach of all the various parties involved, specifically our client, TenneT, consortium partner, Siemens, and Drydocks World for the fabrication and construction of the topside," noted Salibi.

"As we progress with the further critical stages of the project, the focus will remain on safe and efficient delivery to ensure the platform is installed successfully in the North Sea and goes online to the full satisfaction of TenneT," he added.

Siemens CEO (Transmission Solutions Business Unit) Mirko Düsel said the company has experienced incredible collaboration between the partners on this project.

"Today also marks a significant milestone for Siemens, as it is the fifth direct current platform we have implemented for TenneT in the North Sea. We are looking forward to seeing our highly efficient technology at play as the platform goes online in 2019," stated Dusel.-TradeArabia News Service