Nexans, TenneT get things rolling on BalWin3 and LanWin4 offshore grid connections

TenneT and Nexans, which signed framework agreements for three offshore grid connections last year, have now signed a call-off contract for the BalWin3 and LanWin3 projects, each of which will have a capacity of 2 GW and will link offshore wind farms to the German grid.

In May 2023, TenneT awarded NKT, Nexans, and a consortium of Jan De Nul, LS Cable, and Denys with contracts worth approximately €5.5 billion in total to install 525 kV HVDC cable systems for ten offshore wind projects in the Netherlands and Germany.

Besides BalWin3 and LanWin4, Nexans also secured work on the LanWin2 grid connection in the German North Sea. BalWin3 and LanWin4 will connect to the onshore grid in Wilhelmshaven and LanWin2 near Heide. 

Under the framework agreements, the French cable maker will be responsible for the full Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI), including civil works, of over 2,160 kilometers of subsea and land cables.

The initial value of Nexans’s agreements for the three projects signed last year is €1.7 billion, with major subcontracted works to be added once the project-specific call-offs are signed, the company said in May 2023.

According to TenneT, the signing of the call-off contracts for BalWin3 and LanWin4 supports the offshore expansion goals for 2031, providing infrastructure for 4 GW of increased transmission capacity.

For Nexans, the three offshore wind grid connection projects are the first in which the Group is deploying its 525 kV offshore cable technology specifically designed to support the energy transition, the company said.

The subsea cables will be manufactured at Nexans’s factory in Halden, Norway.

The 2 GW HVDC offshore platforms for the grid connections will be built by the Siemens Energy-Dragados Offshore consortium, which also signed a framework agreement with TenneT last year.