The Singapore-based company is a leading global marine and offshore engineering group is strengthening its position in the renewable energy-segment.
March 31, 2021
Sembcorp Marine Ltd and GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions have secured a contract from RWE Renewables, to supply the high voltage direct current (HVDC) electrical transmission system for the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm.
Located on Dogger Bank, 195 km off the northeast coastline of the UK in the central North Sea, Sofia spans an area of 593 km2. With a capacity of 1.4 gigawatt (GW) that will power the equivalent of nearly 1.2 million UK homes with clean and renewable energy, Sofia will be one of the largest wind farms in the world when completed.
Sembcorp Marine and GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions began early design works for the project in July 2020, after being chosen as the preferred supplier of the HVDC electrical transmission system. The HVDC system represents Sofia’s second-largest contract and is worth approximately £600 million (USD 1.12 billion).
The contract work scope comprises the design, manufacture, installation, commissioning and maintenance of the offshore converter platform (OCP) and the onshore converter station (OCS), including all ancillary equipment. Sembcorp Marine’s scope of work includes the design, construction, installation and commissioning of the OCP.
The OCP, at the heart of the wind farm, comprises a 17,000-tonne topside and jacket foundation structure piled into the seabed 220 km from the nearest shore. It will be the most powerful and most remote OCP ever built.
Sven Utermöhlen, Chief Operating Officer Wind Offshore Global of RWE Renewables said: “Signing this contract with the consortium of GE’s Grid Solutions and Sembcorp Marine for the supply of Sofia’s HVDC electrical system reflects RWE’s strong commitment to innovation and to pushing the boundaries of what is capable within the sector. The 1.4GW Sofia project is our first to use the HVDC technology, which was selected to maximise the wind farm’s export capacity from a location so far from shore.”
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With this contract win, Sembcorp Marine strengthens its position in the renewable energy segment, validating its strategy to transform itself into an innovative engineering solutions provider in the offshore, marine and energy industries with a focus on sustainability.
