Elia Reveals Main MOG Contract Winners

Belgian transmission system operator Elia is on track to complete the Modular Offshore Grid by September 2019 after awarding all the main contracts for the project.

The awarded contracts have a combined value of over EUR 200 million and include all construction works and the detailed design, Elia said.

The company’s recent announcement has revealed that Siemens will deliver electrical high voltage switching equipment – GIS (Gas Insulated Substation), for the offshore switchyard platform (OSY).

Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk GmbH & Co. KG., the parent company of EEW Special Pipe Constructions, will manufacture main tubular steel components and the piles for the OSY platform and deliver them to Heerema Fabrication Group, the company in charge of building the OSY platform based on Ramboll’s design.

The OSY platform will be installed by Seaway Heavy Lifting in two separate campaigns. Installation of the jacket is scheduled before the end of 2018, installation of the topside will take place in 2019.

The 85km of 220kV subsea cable will be delivered and installed by Dredging International. Manufacturing is scheduled for 2018 and cable installation in the seabed will start in 2019.

The contract for unexploded ordnance (UXO) identification and removal, to be conducted in 2018, will be awarded in the coming weeks, Elia said. Other smaller contracts will follow in the course of 2018, such as logistics for crew transfer by vessel and helicopter, project offices, marine coordination, etc.

Elia will also soon apply for a domain concession which will allow the company to build and operate the offshore platform.

The EUR 400 million MOG, expected to be fully operational in 2020, will connect to four offshore wind farms: Rentel, Northwester 2, Mermaid, and Seastar.

The platform will be located approximately 40km from the coast of Zeebrugge in the Belgian North Sea. Two direct submarine 220kV cables and one cable via the Rentel wind farm will link the OSY platform with the Stevin substation in Zeebrugge, so that the produced wind energy can be injected in the Belgian onshore grid.

NOTE: The original article stated that EEW SPC won the contract to manufacture main tubular steel components and the piles for the OSY platform.