Siemens Blog - The HelWin1 offshore platform in the North Sea off the German coast is installed

Starting next year, this will enable the network operator Tennet to supply energy to the mainland as the alternating current power generated by the wind turbines is transformed into low-loss direct current for transmission to land.

A land-based station, also supplied by Siemens to Tennet, is located northwest of Hamburg in Büttel, where electricity will be converted back into the alternating current power required for feeding into the grid.

"With the installation of our platform at sea we have successfully mastered the most critical part of this project and are now in the final stretch for commissioning in 2014," said Karlheinz Springer, CEO of the power transmission division at Siemens.

After seven days of transport at sea and four days of installation on site, the HelWin1 platform was anchored at its final position northwest of the island of Helgoland.

The platform is fully automated and the systems can be monitored and controlled from land, with cameras and sensors providing a complete overview of the current operating status.