Hollandse Kust (west) Alpha receives grid readiness certificate
After extensive preparation and three years of construction on land and sea, the grid connection for Hollandse Kust (west) Alpha is officially ready for commissioning.
Image source: TenneT
Netherands, Arnhem: After extensive preparation and three years of construction on land and sea, the grid connection for Hollandse Kust (west) Alpha is officially ready for commissioning.
Completion was scheduled for the first quarter of 2024, and TenneT received the grid readiness certificate from DNV before the holidays in 2023. This makes the grid connection of the ‘socket at sea’ to the national electricity grid officially ready for use after a series of extensive tests. Via the cable connection coming ashore at Heemskerk/Wijk aan Zee, power has been put on this new part of the grid from the high-voltage substation along the A9 near Beverwijk.
Last September, the >3,600-ton superstructure (topside) of the offshore socket was placed on the undercarriage (jacket), while almost two years earlier, the first steel cut took place in Antwerp. Earlier, two sea cables that will bring the green power ashore in 2023 were installed by Jan de Nul Group and LS Cables.
Now that the grid connection is ready for use, the wind farm operator Ecowende (a joint venture between Shell and Eneco) can connect the wind turbines in the 760 MW offshore wind farm as soon as they are built. The wind farm is expected to be commissioned in 2026.
Source: TenneT
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