Jan De Nul Group together with its consortium partners LS Cable & System and Denys, has signed the contracts for two 525 HVDC cable systems for the two grid connection systems BalWin4 and LanWin1. These mark the first two contracts signed under the long-term framework agreement that TenneT and Jan De Nul have signed earlier this year.

The projects comprise the design, manufacturing, transport, installation, protection and testing of three 525 kV cable systems for connecting offshore wind farms to the onshore grid via the BalWin4 and LanWin1 grid connections. The projects are part of TenneT’s sustainable 2GW Program.

Jan De Nul will take care of the transport, installation, burial and protection of the offshore cables. For this, it will use a variety of its specialised vessels and assets including the Fleeming Jenkin, the company’s recently ordered XL cable-laying vessel.

LS Cable & System will design, manufacture, terminate and test all cables with Denys being responsible for civil and cable pulling scope related to the onshore cable routes. In total, more than 1000 km of HVDC will be designed, manufactured, transported, installed, protected, and tested for these two projects.

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Accelerating European offshore grid expansion

The cable systems of the two grid connections BalWin4 and LanWin1 coming from the offshore converter stations will cross the Wadden Sea and be connected to the extra-high voltage grid in Unterweser. The grid connections will enable renewable electricity from offshore wind farms with a transmission capacity of altogether 4 GW to be fed into the German grid.

BalWin4 and LanWin1 are part of the 2GW Program. With its transnational approach and a new standard for offshore grid connection systems, the 2GW Program accelerates European offshore grid expansion and secures energy supply for Europe. Together, the total of 14 offshore grid connections in the 2GW program will supply up to 35 million households with green wind energy.

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Fleeming Jenkin

XL cable-laying vessel Fleeming Jenkin, an Ultra Low Emission vessel (ULEv) with unrivalled carrying capacity of up to 28,000 tonnes, will transport and install the 525kV HVDC offshore cables. The two power core cables together with the metallic return cable as well as a fibre optic cable will be installed simultaneously using the three carousels and fibre optic tank on board the Fleeming Jenkin.

Apart from the ULEv technology, the ship is equipped with hybrid engines that can run on both biofuel and green methanol. This significantly reduces CO2 emissions. The 2.5-MWh battery and drive technology optimise energy use on board. Fleeming Jenkin will meet the strictest standards on emissions, such as the European Stage V and EURO VI emission standards.

Picture: Fleeming Jenking, Jan De Nul’s ULEv XL cable-laying vessel.

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