Prysmian secures SylWin1 project by TenneT for the cable connection of offshore wind farms in the North Sea to the German power grid

Prysmian will provide complete supply, installation and commissioning of submarine and land cable connections as part of a larger contract awarded to the consortium of Prysmian and Siemens Energy. Siemens will deliver the Voltage Sourced Converter (VSC) system, with a rating of 864 MW. The turnkey connection will link the offshore wind park DanTysk, located about 160 km offshore, to the mainland with the purpose of transmitting power from renewable source into the German Grid.

The SylWin1 project follows the BorWin2 and HelWin1 projects awarded last year and it will exceed the milestones set by BorWin2. The project involves a longer DC cable connection and is the highest ever rated system for VSC technology with a power rating of 864 MW operating at the highest commercially available voltage level of ± 320 kV DC. The SylWin1 project will use extruded HVDC cable technology from Prysmian together with Siemens HVDC Plus® converter technology at the offshore platform and onshore stations. The interconnection comprises of HVDC subsea and land cable types at a voltage of ± 320 kV DC to be supplied by Prysmian along a 159 km sea route passing to the east of Helgoland and continuing along a 45 km land route to the land converter station in Büttel, north-west of Hamburg. Extruded 155 kV HVAC submarine cable connections will complete the connections from the DanTysk offshore wind park transformer platform to the offshore converter platform. The cable system’s configuration comprises also of a fibre optic cable for signalling and communication purposes.

The cables and accessories will be manufactured from 2012 onwards at Prysmian’s European HV factories. Installation activities will commence in 2012 and continue into 2013. The commencement of commercial operation of the HVDC link is planned for 2014.

This latest contract demonstrates once more Prysmian’s leading position in the development of HVDC cable systems for power transmission in terms of technical expertise and the commitment to support smarter and greener power grids worldwide. Prysmian has developed a wide range of state-of-the-art products and technologies for applications in the renewable energies sector, from wind turbines and solar plants to large high voltage interconnection systems of new power generation sites. Among other projects in which Prysmian has recently been involved in the field of both HVDC power transmission and offshore wind parks are some of the largest developments worldwide such as Walney, Ormonde, Gunfleet Sands, Thanet and Greater Gabbard in the UK as well as Alpha Ventus, Borwin2 and Helwin1 in Germany.