The Pioneering Spirit is on its way to the German North Sea from Rotterdam. There, its topsides and jacket lift technology will be used in the installation of TenneT’s 900-MW offshore converter station.
The converter station will be used for the offshore grid connection system DolWin6, a 320kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission system, used to transmit wind power generated by the offshore wind farms in the German North Sea Cluster 3, onshore in Emden.
This is the first instance of the Pioneering Spirit transporting and installing an entire converter platform for the offshore wind industry. Allseas engineers adapted the existing lifting systems for pile driving technology to be able to secure the jacket to the seabed. The 5,000-tonne foundation jacket is standing on the seabed with piling of the substructure has begun. The 11,000-tonne topsides will follow.
