BorWin1

When completed in 2012, BorWin1 was the largest and most remote offshore wind farm in the world. It was also the first HVDC grid connection from an offshore wind farm. The connection was made possible through Hitachi Energy’s leading HVDC Light^® technology.

BorWin1 wind farm consists of 80 wind turbines, each with a generating capacity of 5 MW. Located 125 kilometers off the German mainland in the North Sea, the HVDC system has the capacity to deliver up to 400 megawatts (MW) of carbon-neutral electricity to the German power grid.

Hitachi Energy was selected by the German transmission system operator (TSO), TenneT to supply a complete HVDC Light solution to connect the wind farm to the AC onshore power transmission network.

Hitachi Energy HVDC Light VSC technology is compact and weighs less than alternative transmission systems, which are important features for offshore platform design and construction. Furthermore, the technology has independent active/reactive power control and islanding operation capability, which is important for the start-up of offshore wind power plants.

Hitachi Energy was responsible for system engineering including design, supply and installation of the offshore converter, sea and land cable systems and the onshore converter. Cables were laid underwater and underground to minimize environmental impact.