Balfour Beatty Wins Hornsea Two Onshore Substation Contract

The UK founded infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has secured a contract to build the onshore substation for Ørsted’s Hornsea Project Two offshore wind project on the East coast of England.

Following the collaboration during the enabling works phase earlier this year, Balfour Beatty will now commence works to the main build with completion expected in 2020, Ørsted said.

As part of the works, Balfour Beatty will construct a new onshore substation facility, which will transform the power produced by Hornsea Project Two wind farm before connecting to the National Grid.

Additionally, Balfour Beatty will utilise its mechanical and electrical capability, Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick, to deliver the mechanical and electrical services for the new facility.

This contract continues the collaboration between Ørsted and Balfour Beatty, who also constructed the onshore substation for Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm, on the adjacent site.

“Having already constructed onshore substations for three of our other projects, this contract continues the long-term partnership between Ørsted and Balfour Beatty,” Duncan Clark, Programme Director for Hornsea Projects One and Two, said.

“Their team is already on site having nearly finished Hornsea Project One’s substation, and having this continuity of the team will ensure optimum efficiencies. We’re committed to investing in the UK and we’re very pleased to be working with a UK firm that we have confidence will deliver a good quality build, on time and most importantly, with a continued high focus on safety.”

Hornsea Project Two won a Contract for Difference in September 2017 and will be built at the lowest ever price for offshore wind seen in the UK, Ørsted said.

The 1.4GW project will be located 89 kilometres off the Yorkshire Coast and will comprise 165 Siemens Gamesa turbines expected to be fully operational in 2022.

The majority of the blades are expected to be manufactured at the Siemens Gamesa facility in Hull, where pre-assembly work will also be carried out.