50Hertz, the transmission system operator (TSO) for eastern Germany, has awarded its Ostwind 4 project to GE Vernova, in consortium with Drydocks World, a DP World company that provides marine and offshore services to the renewable energy sector, among others. The project involves the design, construction, and commissioning of a 2-GW high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) electric transmission system—the first of its kind in the German Baltic Sea—connecting offshore wind farms to the German grid.
Ostwind 4 is the fourth offshore project designed to connect wind farm areas northeast of Rügen island to the German power grid (Figure 1). Both an offshore converter platform and an onshore converter station will be built as part of the project. This is the first time an offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea will include 525-kV HVDC technology, which can transport more power than alternating current (AC) connections with lower…
