Drydocks World announced beginning of construction of DolWin beta, the world’s largest Wind Power HVDC Offshore Platform for Aibel AS, a leading service company that works within the oil, gas and renewable energy sectors. A steel cutting ceremony was organized to mark the occasion.

DolWin beta will be built for a large wind farm cluster in the German sector of the North Sea. It will receive alternating current from wind farms, and convert it into direct current before sending it onshore via subsea cables. The dimension of the platform is 100.1 meters by 74.1 meters. It will be 83 meters tall with accommodation and outfits and weigh 20,000 tonnes approximately. The platform can generate 900 MW power and can receive electricity from three wind farms, ie a total of 240 turbines.

This offshore wind connection will avoid more than 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year by replacing fossil fuel based generation. The EPC subcontract between Aibel AS and Drydocks World was signed on January 12th 2012. The platform will be ready for sailaway from Dubai Drydocks end 2013 and will, after assembly and testing inshore be towed out to the DolWin field from Aibel’s yard at Haugesund, Norway.

The German company TenneT has awarded the Contract to ABB to supply the Platform which acts as a transmission link that will connect offshore wind farms located in the cluster DolWin in the North Sea to the German grid. The project is designed and managed by Aibel AS.

Source - Drydocks World

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