newsflash
Today, all eyes are on our yard in Newcastle. We are building substations there for the first time, more specifically for Moray West and Inch Cape. A different constructions site and approach. From subcontractor to partner, you can read all about it in this article.
Moray West
A scope of 2 topsides and a subcontract for electrical outfitting. This is the start of Moray West, in a consortium where Siemens Energy provides the high-voltage equipment. All interfaces, installation and sea cables are owned by the customer. An OTM project like any other, you might think.
Project Manager Marinus van de Lagemaat: “Since our work for Triton Knoll and Moray East, we have acquired a taste for OTMs. We liked working with Siemens Energy and wanted to build on this. What we said back then has now become a reality. An important part of the selection was the wish to involve local content, especially how as a consortium we could do the assembly and installation of the OTMs at our Smulders Projects UK yard. We met that requirement, as we are now the proud owner of the Newcastle yard ourselves and we have invested in the necessary modification to be able to assemble substations there in future. And that is new!”
The parts for Moray West's topsides were prefabricated in Belgium in 2022 and then transported to Newcastle, where we are assembling the 2 topsides. In parallel, Siemens Energy is working on the high-voltage equipment for installation on the modules. Upon publication of this Passion, both topsides are ready for electrical outfitting, which is done by our subcontractor Equans. The works are on schedule, with load-out of both modules scheduled for the last quarter of 2023.
Inch Cape
Assembly work also continues for Inch Cape at our UK yard. The scope here is much broader: a topside, jacket, the electrical outfitting as well as transport, installation and offshore logistics. An atypical topside say, the size of 2 OTMs together with a double capacity of more than 1 GW. And you’ve read it correctly: the electric scope is our responsibility.
Marinus van de Lagemaat: “For Inch Cape, the consortium does almost everything for onshore and offshore, except the cable connection in between. Siemens Energy is in charge of the heart of the wind farm, the HV equipment that brings the generated power to land. And we create the basis on which that equipment will have a place. It's them and us, together in 1 contract. Our ambition was to become more self-sufficient in the substation market, which is why we are expanding our knowledge and workforce considerably.”
