Vattenfall has granted Aker Solutions and Siemens Energy consortium a limited notice to proceed contract for the Norfolk Boreas offshore wind project off the coast of Norfolk, UK.
Under the agreement, Aker Solutions and Siemens Energy will provide the grid connection infrastructure for the Norfolk Boreas Offshore Wind Farm.
This includes the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) of the high voltage direct current (HVDC) offshore platform, onshore substation, and connection to the National Grid.
The project is subject to regulatory approvals and the final investment decision (FID) is expected during the second quarter of 2023. Aker Solutions will, at this stage, book a sizeable order intake reflecting the compensated work that is to be performed until the expected FID next year. Aker Solutions defines a sizeable contract as being between NOK 0.5 billion (around $46 million) and NOK 1.5 billion (around $138.4 million).
Further to this, Aker Solutions estimates a contract value for the company following FID to be in the range of NOK 2.5 billion (around $230,7 million) to 3.5 billion ($322,7 million).
Kenneth Simonsen, Senior Vice President of Offshore Wind at Aker Solutions, said: "The development of Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone could require up to three HVDC platforms in succession, which would provide more long-term predictability and positive repeat effects and standardization for the supplier industry.
"Together with Siemens Energy, we are proud to support a project which meets the dual objective of developing local content while delivering low cost, green electricity to homes and businesses across the UK."
"We are very proud to announce this agreement. Developing state-of-the-art HVDC technology and having such strong partners on board clearly underlines our position as one of Europe's leading developers in offshore wind. It is also a significant boost for local communities and UK companies that will be able to benefit from opportunities in the supply chain to help deliver one of the largest offshore wind zones in the world," said Helene Biström, Head of Business Area Wind at Vattenfall.
Located more than 47 kilometers off the Norfolk coast and with the planned installed capacity of 1.4GW, Norfolk Boreas is the first phase of Vattenfall's Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone and comes ahead of the Norfolk Vanguard Offshore Wind Farm.
This first phase of the Norfolk Zone will deliver first power in the mid-to-late-2020s. Once complete, the Zone will produce enough renewable electricity to power more than four million homes and save around six million tonnes of CO2.