TenneT starts tender process for linking Dutch 2 GW offshore grids to land

TenneT has opened a qualification period for a tender for 525 kV DC cable supply and installation on the 2 GW offshore grid projects in the Netherlands.

The first upcoming cable supply and installation tender for the 2 GW offshore grid projects is expected to be launched later this year, in Q3/Q4.

The scope of the tender are the cable connections that will link the offshore DC platforms with the respective land station(s). The work under the tender includes design, engineering, production, delivery, project management, offshore-, nearshore- and inshore installation of 525kV DC cables, as well as all jointing works on subsea and land sections. Land installation could be part of scope.

Companies can be qualified to tender for cable supply, cable installation, or both.

For cable supply, the conditions include experience in the design and manufacturing of AC or DC subsea cable and underground cable with a rated voltage level ≥110 kV, as well as an official declaration of a successful PQ test at a rated voltage level of 525kV DC at BAFO. For cable installation, one of the main conditions is experience with subsea power cable laying and burial, and pull-in to a landfall.

Earlier this month, TenneT opened a qualification period for construction work on 2 GW HVDC offshore platforms for the Dutch connections, with the first tender under this qualification system planned to start in July 2021.

In early 2020, TenneT entered into a partnership with a number of companies to develop the 2 GW, 525 kV HVDC grid connection system that would be implemented in Germany and the Netherlands. The 2 GW system will more than double the capacity in comparison with the previous 900 MW HVDC standard and will prepare TenneT for the planned acceleration of offshore wind deployment in Germany and the Netherlands.

The first tenders in the Netherlands, for which the qualification periods are now being launched, will cover at least two projects in the 4 GW IJmuiden Ver wind area in the North Sea.

The 4 GW IJmuiden Ver is one of three sites identified by the Dutch Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap 2030. The three sites have a combined capacity of 6.1 GW and are expected to help the Netherlands reach the target of 11.5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.

The wind farms at the sites are expected to be commissioned between 2024 and 2030.