Nordic Yards wins 2nd wind platform

Nordic Yards, manufacturer of technologically sophisticated, innovative special ships and maritime structures received an order from Siemens Energy to build a second self-erecting offshore platform. Production of this platform, which will be used as part of the offshore platform project known as HelWin1 in the eastern North Sea near Helgoland, will begin at the end of May 2011. It is to be constructed in sections at the Wismar and Warnemünde sites. In July 2010 Siemens Energy ordered the first transformer platform BorWin beta for the BorWin2 Project from Nordic Yards. The platform now ordered – HelWin alpha – is of a comparable design.

Last summer the Dutch transmission network operator TenneT commissioned the consortium between the Italian Prysmian Powerlink and Siemens Energy with producing the offshore network connection to the North Sea East, Veja Mate and Global Tech 1 wind farms in the North Sea. The second platform ordered from Nordic Yards by the above consortium represents a component of this project with which the energy generated by the North Sea East wind farm is transported to the mainland. The aim is to guarantee the network connection with all three wind farms from 2013 on. The investments for the overall project amount to approximately € 700 million in total.

„Nordic Yards is a strong and competent partner for offshore projects. The follow-up order from Siemens Energy, on which an average of 180 employees will be working, confirms that it was the correct decision to define offshore structures as one of three pillars of our corporate strategy,” says Vitaly Yusufov, owner and Managing Director of Nordic Yards. “We look forward to continuing our excellent co-operation with Siemens Energy – one of the world's leading technology groups. The employees and management at Nordic Yards are proud that, as a result, they will be able to push forward with expanding a central business segment of Nordic Yards.“

Up to 576 MW of electricity will be transmitted via the HelWin alpha transformer platform. Due to its special construction no heavy duty crane ship is required to lift the platform on to the substructure. Siemens Energy will be carrying out the transformer technology and high-voltage work for the platform at the Nordic Yards shipyard in Warnemünde. At the end of July 2012 the plan is to tow the HelWin alpha platform into the North Sea before it is handed over at the end of January 2013 to Siemens Energy for test operations.

Construction of the topside, the section of the platform which lies above the surface of the water, will begin at the Wismar site at the end of May. The base frame – the supporting structure underneath – will be produced in Warnemünde. Following near completion of the topside with structural steel, the structures required for autonomous erection of the platform will be mounted in Warnemünde. The platform will also be equipped and tested in Warnemünde.
Source: Nordic Yards