- 20 September 2024
New project film celebrates successful installation of OCP
Across two weeks in August, RWE wrote a new chapter in the history of the offshore wind industry.
After years of collaboration with our partners GE Vernova and Seatrium, the offshore converter platform was delivered to the North Sea on board the GPO Sapphire.
There, it was lifted by the vessel Sleipnir, operated by Heerema Marine Contractors, and lowered into position. Weighing in over 12,000 metric tonnes, this is the heaviest lift in the history of the offshore wind industry.
The OCP is 100 metres long, 50 metres wide and stands 70 metres proud of sea level. It is approximately the height of an 11-story building and is almost large enough to fill a football pitch. It has taken over 13 million working hours to build, over a period of two and a half years.
This is the first instance of RWE deploying High Voltage Direct Current technology offshore, and as such this was the most challenging platform to create.
Its successful installation keeps the 1.4 gigawatt (GW) project on track for its anticipated commissioning in 2026.
Now installed at Sofia's offshore array, RWE’s Jon Nuttall, OCP transport and installation manager, Mark Carter, transmission system senior packages manager and Matthew Swanwick, project director, discuss the complexities of the OCP and its installation in our latest video.
You can see the full video on the project below, and you can browse our other project videos in our Video Gallery.
