Hornsea 3 HVDC platform project
Sarens along with Aibel Shipyard will help install two HVDC converter platforms together for the Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm in Thailand
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November 2024

Sarens works together with Aibel Shipyard to assemble the two HVDC converter platforms for the 2900MW Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm. Together, they are contracted to install the platforms at the Maptaphut facility in Rayong, Thailand, from where they will be transported to Haugesund.

In Haugesund, they will be equipped with Hitachi Energy's latest generation HVDC converter valve technology prior to final completion and commissioning. These units will be key to ensuring the performance of the wind farm, as they are the units responsible for transmitting large amounts of electricity over long distances, once the electricity produced by the wind turbines has been converted into alternating current.

The operation began in January 2024 and will continue until the first quarter of 2025. For the project Sarens transported two CC2800-1 cranes, each with a capacity of 600 tonnes, from its facility.

Both the cranes will collaborate in lifting Section S210, weighing 273 tonnes, and Section S220, weighing 388.7 tonnes, to their final positions, completing the module.

As a preliminary step, the cranes were positioned on steel mats to crawl and stack the section on the surface, ensuring the operation’s security, precise crane movements, and preventing damage to both the material and operators in the vicinity.

The new Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm, located 120 km off the Norfolk coast and 160 km off the Yorkshire coast, will become, once commissioned in 2027, the largest offshore wind project in the world with up to 231 turbines, 696 km2 of occupied area and a clean electricity production of 2.9 GW, which will be enough to supply more than 3.3 million homes in the UK.