Dutch and German Omexom teams collaborate on Gemini Wind Park in the Netherlands
The Gemini Wind Park is one of largest offshore wind parks in Europe. Located in the North Sea, 85 km off the coast of the Netherlands, it became operational in 2017. With a rated capacity of 600 megawatts, Gemini generates renewable electricity for 1.5 million people while reducing CO₂ emissions by 1.25 million tons per year. Built between 2014 and 2017, the wind park will provide clean energy for decades to come. To make sure that Gemini performs at its best, operations and maintenance are a key part of the project.
Infallible cross-border collaboration onshore and offshore
Omexom teams in Germany and the Netherlands are part of the crews working to optimize the performance of the park and ensuring reliable access to energy for a hundred thousand households on the mainland.
Combining their expertise, they are in charge of the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the offshore substations through the German teams and the onshore substation on the Dutch side. The maintenance of separators, earthing switches and other associated components on the high voltage installations is done offshore by the German team and onshore by the Dutch.
“Each business unit, and therefore its customers, can benefit from the expertise of other business units in the Omexom network. And that’s what is happening with this project.”
Mateusz van Strien
Client Manager Omexom in the Netherlands
Complex processes requiring specific expertise
“Each of Omexom’s business units has specific expertise to meet certain energy transition challenges,’’ says Mateusz van Strien, Client Manager at Omexom in the Netherlands and responsible for the service, maintenance and commissioning department.
“Each business unit, and therefore its customers, can benefit from the expertise of other business units in the Omexom network. And that’s what is happening with this project.”
The Gemini wind farm consists of 150 turbines which supply a high-voltage substation in Eemshaven, a maritime municipality in the Dutch province of Groningen, where they are connected to the TenneT grid.
Each of the 150 turbines generates 690 volts of electricity. A transformer located in the turbine directly converts this electricity to 33 kilovolts.
The combined electricity of seven to eight turbines connected in a loop with each other is sent to an Offshore High Voltage Station, which converts it to 220 kilovolts.
An 85-kilometer cable connects the Offshore High Voltage Station to the land station, where the electricity is retransformed to 380 kV and connected to the TenneT high voltage grid, allowing it to be transported over longer distances.
“From the first day of 2018, we have worked well together. This makes the job much easier and you can quickly solve any disruption.”
Thorben Alfs
Technical Manager, Omexom in Germany
Communication, security and responsiveness, the key words for a successful collaboration
These complex processes require specific expertise to ensure smooth operation; Omexom in Germany’s offshore expertise and Omexom in the Netherland’s experience with high voltage land installations are a perfect match.
During the annual scheduled works of the wind farm in June, twenty Omexom specialists from both countries are active at the same time.
“The quality of the work of our Dutch colleagues is good, the communication is pleasant. They are alert and quick to react and, what is also very important, they provide professional documentation. From the first day of 2018, we have worked well together,” says Thorben Alfs from Omexom in Germany. “This makes the job much easier and you can quickly solve any disruption. Not to mention that, very important in our industry, we also have the same security awareness.”