Iberdrola installs the converter station for its ‘East Anglia 3’ offshore wind megafarm
Iberdrolathrough its British subsidiary ScottishPower Renewables, has successfully completed the installation of the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) marine converter station in the ‘East Anglia 3’ wind farmwhich will have a capacity of 1,400 megawatts (MW) when it comes into operation at the end of 2026 and It will involve a total investment of 5,000 million eurosaccording to the company.
The project, located about 69 kilometers off the Suffolk coastin British waters of the North Sea, is the first of the energy group’s offshore wind farms to incorporate HVDC technology, the most efficient way to transport electricity over long distances.
The electricity company highlighted that this substation is “a key piece” in the development of ‘East Anglia 3’, Iberdrola’s largest offshore wind farm in the world and one of the largest globally. Specifically, its function will be transform the electricity generated by the park’s 95 turbinesgoing from high voltage alternating current to direct current.
The installed structure has a weight of 10,700 tons and about dimensions of 70 meters long, 34 wide and 48 high. This is the largest module built to date in the entire Iberdrola group.
The marine converter station has a height similar to a 16-story building and its weight is 50% greater than that of the Eiffel Tower. The installation operation has been a technical challenge, successfully executed thanks to the largest crane vessel in the world, the SSCV Sleipnir from Heerema Marine Contractors, which had already placed the project’s marine foundations last summer.
The manufacturing of the module was completed in Mangalia (Romania) in mid-2024 and, after traveling more than 3,800 nautical miles, it arrived at the Aker Solutions shipyard in Stord (Norway) for final assembly.
