Sea Connections (IJver Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Nederwiek 1, 2, and 3)

Offshore wind energy is going to grow substantially in the following decennia. The 2030 route map already shows a 21 GW capacity and the goal for 2050 is very ambitious, aiming for 70GW.

These windfarms produce electricity that requires transportation towards land. Given the great distance to the coast, this requires multiple direct current (DC) connections of 2 GW each: IJmuiden Ver Alpha, Beta and Gamma as well as Nederwiek 1, 2 and 3. All these connections require a new cable that runs from the wind farms, via a new converter station on land to the connection with the 380kV-station. Pondera, together with Arcadis, is supporting TenneT in the preparation by drawing up the EIA and the permit applications for both the offshore parts and the onshore section.

The offshore part concerns an offshore HV platform to which the individual wind turbines are connected and the voltage level is transformed (from 66 kilovolt (kV) AC to 525 kV DC) and a 525 kV DC cable connection from the offshore HV platform to land. The land section concerns a DC cable that will eventually be connected to the TenneT national electricity grid via a converter station to be built on land.

An important part of the environmental impact assessment (MER) was determining the optimal onshore and offshore cable route, taking into account environmental, ecological, economic and technical aspects, and especially the stakeholders in the area. To help assess the situation an Integrated Effects Analysis (IEA) was performed which looked at the environment, technology, costs and future-proofness in addition to the environment. The connection of the IJmuiden Ver wind energy area will connect the largest offshore wind energy area in the Netherlands and will be one of Europe’s largest grid connections.

The long-lasting partnership between Pondera, Arcadis and commissioner TenneT ensures a cooperative team that will continue to work together on the newest connections for Nederwiek 1, 2 and 3.