Hitachi Energy and Aibel have signed separate framework agreements with German renewable energy company, RWE, for multiple high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems to accelerate the integration of offshore wind power into the grid.The agreement follows the signing of a Capacity Reservation Agreement (CRA) last November that reserves the engineering and production capacity to develop three major HVDC projects. The projects will allow electricity transmission from offshore wind farms to onshore connection points. Under the global framework agreements, RWE has contracted Hitachi Energy and Aibel in a split contract model. The onshore construction work will be contracted during the development phase of the projects by RWE. The agreement includes the supply of HVDC systems and construction of the actual platforms. Hitachi Energy will supply its voltage source converter (VSC) systems, to convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) for efficient long-distance transmission to shore, where it will be converted back to AC for the grid. Aibel will be responsible for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) on the design, construction, and commissioning of the offshore platforms.
