Siemens Energy's joint venture with Spain's Dragados Offshore has awarded a €7 billion contract to design and build three offshore wind farm energy converter platforms for transmission system operator TenneT in the German North Sea.

Each platform weighs about 34,000 tons and will collect alternating current generated by several wind farms and convert it into high-voltage direct current, which will be transmitted by cables to the coast about 200 kilometers away.

There, it will convert back to alternating current at its power stations in Wilhelmshaven and Heide, Germany. In the global race to tackle climate change, grid expansion must be able to keep pace with accelerated expansion targets for renewable energy, said Tim Holt, a member of the executive board of Siemens Energy. Shorter contracting processes, large-scale tenders and standardization of solutions show that grid operators and manufacturers have come together to deliver green energy to consumers faster.

However, in order for the industry to continue to increase capacity, all levers available at the policy level must now be deployed – from raw materials and skilled labor strategies to further simplification of licensing procedures at all levels.Editor/XingWentao