Prysmian Group has been selected by the Transmission System Operator (TSO) Amprion as the preferred bidder for the two offshore grid connection systems BalWin1 and BalWin2 and the underground cable project DC34. The contracts are valued in aggregate at around EUR 4.5 billion.

Aug 22, 2023

Prysmian Group has been selected by the Transmission System Operator (TSO) Amprion, one of the leading European TSOs, as the preferred bidder for the two offshore grid connection systems BalWin1 and BalWin2 and the underground cable project DC34. The preferred bidder agreement provides an obligation on the parties to negotiate in good faith the outstanding items of the projects with a target to execute the final contracts by 15 January 2024. Prysmian is committed to reserving the required production and installation capacity until the aforementioned date. The contracts are valued in aggregate at around EUR 4.5 billion.

BalWin1 and BalWin2 will transmit each up to 2 GW of energy from the future offshore wind farms to be located in the German North Sea BalWin Cluster to the grid connection points in Wehrendorf (Lower Saxony) and Westerkappeln (North Rhine-Westphalia) and thus supporting the energy transition in the industrial heart of Germany. Each cable system will consist of two single-core ±525 kV HVDC copper cables with XLPE insulation for the submarine sections and P-Laser insulation for the land underground sections, plus a dedicated metallic return cable and a fibre optic cable. BalWin1 will utilize approx. 1,070 km of cables along a 358 km route, whereas BalWin2 will use approx. 1,100 km of cables over a route of 376 km.

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DC34 (Number 82 of the Federal Requirement Plan Act) as part of the Rhein-Main-Link will instead connect the substation in the area of Ovelgönne/Rastede/Wiefelstede/Westerstede (Lower Saxony) to a second substation in Bürstadt (Hesse) to transmit up to 2 GW of energy produced by the offshore wind farms in the North Sea to consumers in the Rhine-Main metropolitan area. The cable system will consist of two single-core ±525 kV HVDC copper cables with P-Laser insulation, including a dedicated metallic return cable. DC34 will consist of up to 2,100 km of cables for this cross-Germany route. The three projects are part of Germany’s overall plan to install 70 GW of offshore wind energy by 2045 and will support the transmission of the energy generated in the North Sea to consumers in the Western and Southern regions of the country.

Mr. Hendrik Neumann, CTO of Amprion, commented, “This agreement is a huge step towards realizing these three important projects in time. Thus, the major components for our offshore projects are secured until 2030.”

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Mr. Hakan Ozmen, EVP Projects BU, Prysmian Group, said, “Prysmian is highly committed to the development of greener and smarter power grids, supporting Amprion as one of our key customers in its important energy transition targets.”