Second Offshore Converter Station Installed at UK's Hornsea 3 Wind Farm
en.Wedoany.com Reported - Recently, Ørsted announced that the second offshore converter station for the UK's 2.9GW Hornsea 3 offshore wind project has been installed, marking the completion of installation for both offshore converter stations of the project. The second converter station consists of a seabed jacket and a topside module. The jacket was installed at a water depth of approximately 37 meters, 5 meters deeper than the location of the first one, so its jacket height was increased to approximately 60 meters; after the topside structure is installed, the platform as a whole will still maintain a height of approximately 70 meters above sea level.
Together, the two converter stations handle the high-voltage direct current transmission function of the Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm. The alternating current generated by the wind turbines will be converted to direct current on the offshore platforms, transmitted via submarine export cables to an onshore converter station in the UK, and then converted back to alternating current for grid connection. The project adopts two sets of ±320kV HVDC Light systems, with a total transmission capacity of approximately 2.85GW, configured as two symmetrical monopolar DC links.
The EPCI work for the platforms was undertaken by Aibel, while Hitachi Energy supplied the HVDC converter system and the MACH control and protection system. The topside modules of both platforms were manufactured in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, and then shipped more than 13,000 nautical miles to Haugesund, Norway, where high-voltage equipment installation and commissioning were completed before being transported to the project site in the UK North Sea. The jackets were designed and manufactured by Heerema Fabrication Group in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, and offshore transportation and installation were handled by Heerema Marine Contractors.
The installation of the second converter station was carried out by the semi-submersible crane vessel Sleipnir. The first offshore converter station for Hornsea 3 was installed in March this year. With the second platform now in place, both core converter facilities of the project's offshore transmission system have entered the subsequent stages of electrical connection and system commissioning.
Hornsea 3 is located in the North Sea area approximately 120 kilometers off the coast of Norfolk, UK, and is planned to install 197 Siemens Gamesa SG 14-236 DD wind turbines. The first batch of monopiles for the project began installation in May this year, and foundation construction will continue from 2026 to 2027. Hitachi Energy has given 2027 as the commissioning year for the HVDC system.
