(With video/photo album) The world’s largest offshore converter platform has been installed on the North Sea.
The yellow high tech device, Tennet’s offshore converter platform DolWin Alpha, was constructed to connect wind parks far out at sea to the German power grid. It was installed in the German North Sea on 17 August.
9000 Tons Topsides
Ten days earlier the DolWin Alpha topsides set sail from Schiedam (near Rotterdam) to its final offshore destination 75 kilometers off the German Coast North of the island Borkum. The topsides is 62 meters long, 42 meters wide and 42 meters high and weighs more than 9,000 metric tons.
Heerema
The topsides, built by Heerema Fabrication Group (HFG), was lifted by the world's largest crane vessel Thialf of Heerema Marine Contractors and positioned on top of the already installed jacket.
HFG was awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract by ABB in January 2011. Subsequently, fabrication of the topsides started at HFG’s Zwijndrecht fabrication yard and the 4100 tons jacket at the Heerema Vlissingen yard. The jacket was completed in the summer of 2012 and also installed by the Thialf.
DolWin Alpha
The DolWin Alpha platform measures in total 62 meters in length, 42 meters in width and approximately 95 meters in height and will weigh more than 16,000 tons.
DolWin1
DolWin1 will be the largest grid connection in the German North Sea. In 2014 it will be able to transport 800 MW of clean green energy to the German grid.
Below a video about as well as a photo album of the DolWin Alpha converter platform.
**Please click the little squares at the bottom right of the photo album (the pop-out link) to watch the pictures in their proper dimensions.**
