TenneT issues IJmuiden Ver geotechnical soil investigation call

Dutch transmission system operator TenneT has opened a tender procedure for a geotechnical soil investigation at the 4 GW IJmuiden Ver offshore wind site.

TenneT seeks geotechnical information on two, optionally three, platform locations at IJmuiden Ver which are suitable to progress the design and installation requirements for offshore high voltage substations.

The geotechnical soil investigation must provide relevant information about the soil to a depth below which a possible existence of weak formations will not influence the safety or performance of the high voltage substations, TenneT said.

The duration of the contract is about six months for the execution of the services for IJmuiden Ver Alpha and IJmuiden Ver Beta. If TenneT decides to invoke the option for IJmuiden Ver Gamma, a nine-month extension of the contracting period is possible. The contract is valued at around EUR 5.5 million.

The tender remains open until 22 March.

TenneT plans to install two 2 GW direct current connections at the IJmuiden Ver wind farm zone to transfer electricity generated by offshore wind farms to the Dutch grid.

This will be the first time the high voltage substations of that capacity are used on an offshore wind project. The substations will be connected to the onshore grid via 525 kV export cables, another industry’s first.

Located some 62 kilometres off the west coast of the Netherlands, the 400 km2 IJmuiden Ver zone is divided into four sites – IJmuiden Ver I,II, III, and IV.

The Dutch government will issue two tenders for the permits to develop the sites, in 2023 for IJmuiden Ver I and II, and in 2025 for III and IV.

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