Belgian offshore grid

Project description

Elia Asset N.V. is developing a power transmission grid in the Belgian part of the North Sea in order to cost-efficiently connect future offshore wind farms to the onshore transmission grid.

The objectives of the project are:

• To cost-effectively integrate offshore wind energy in the Belgian Grid, meeting the Belgian 20-20-20 targets;
• To secure transmission of electricity and the security of the grid;
• To further improve the electricity market integration;
• To minimize the environmental impact of the assets necessary to connect the offshore renewable energy.

The Belgian Offshore Grid project that was developed in 2013, consisted of two offshore high voltage substation (OHVS) infrastructures (further referred to as Alpha and Beta) and the necessary HVAC submarine cable connections.

The Alpha Artificial Island will be located in the vicinity of the existing wind farm concession area Northwind and will connect up to 4 future offshore wind farms (Rentel, Seastar, Mermaid and Northwester II) with the onshore HV-grid (Stevin substation).

The Beta Platform will be located within the wind farm concession area Norther and will connect the Norther wind farm with the onshore HV-grid (Stevin substation).
From each offshore substation two or three HV submarine cables will run to the onshore transformer station located near Zeebrugge. The OHVS will be mutually connected by one or two HV cables.

End February 2014, all procurement processes were terminated due to uncertainty related to the regulatory framework and permitting of the Stevin project (onshore HV-grid).

The Belgian Offshore Grid (BOG) project was restarted a few years later as the Modular Offshore Grid (MOG) project.

Service description

The services provided by TORGUN are consultancy services related to the discipline offshore structures.

Services related to the Beta package included:

• Support structure conceptual design;
• Follow-up of seabed investigations;
• Set-up of Employer’s Design Basis for the Beta platform, including review of environmental conditions;
• Set-up of Employer’s Requirements – structural part;
• Technical Tender Evaluation.

Services related to the Belgian Offshore Grid project in general:

• Coordination of verification and certification across the different packages (Alpha, Beta and cables);
• Marine Warranty Surveying scope definition and package management;
• Assistance related to weather downtime;
• Interfaces related to structures.

The services of TORGUN were terminated in April 2014 due to the hold and subsequent re-scoping of the Belgian Offshore Grid project.