BorWin5
OperationalOffshore GridDE900 MW320 kV230 km2025
Basic information
8 fieldsAlso Known As
BorWin epsilon
Status
operational
Capacity
900 MW
Owners
Project Company
Type
offshore grid
Transmission Model
TSO Build & Own
Website
Supply Chain (6)
Project Timeline (11)
10 Dec 2025Commercial Operations Full Power
BorWin5 grid connection system commissioned and operational.
14 Nov 2025System Testing
Regional news article on 14 November 2025 reports that TenneT has partially commissioned the new 380 kV line from Conneforde to the newly built Garrel/Ost substation. It quotes TenneT stating that with this partial commissioning, electricity from the BorWin5 offshore grid connection can now be fed into the grid via the Garrel/Ost substation. This implies that the BorWin5 HVDC connection and associated systems had entered operational system testing by this date.
14 Nov 2025Onss Commissioned
On 14 November 2025, OM online reports that TenneT has put a partial section of the 380 kV line from Conneforde to the new Garrel/Ost substation into operation. The article notes that with this partial in-service, power from the BorWin5 offshore grid connection can be fed into the grid via Garrel/Ost. This indicates that the BorWin5 onshore converter station and its grid connection at Garrel/Ost had been commissioned and were operational by that date, ahead of full commercial operation later in 2025.
Aug 2025Cable Installation Complete
NKT completed installation of a 320 kV HVDC power cable system for TenneT’s BorWin5 offshore grid connection in Germany, using the cable‑laying vessel NKT Victoria to install approximately 230 kilometres of cable. The work included the subsea section from the BorWin epsilon offshore converter platform in the North Sea to landfall at Hilgenriedersiel (around 120 kilometres), followed by about 110 kilometres of underground cable to the Garrel/Ost converter station in Lower Saxony, with the pull‑in to BorWin epsilon finalised in August.
May 2025Offshore Construction Start
Offshore construction for TenneT’s BorWin5 grid connection advanced in May 2025 when Allseas’ heavy-lift vessel Pioneering Spirit executed a two-week offshore campaign to transport and install the BorWin epsilon offshore converter platform in the German North Sea. The scope covered transport, installation, piling, and grouting of the 7,500‑tonne jacket and 12,300‑tonne topside, which houses the HVDC equipment that will convert power from offshore wind turbines for transmission to shore; the campaign concluded with the safe set-down of the topside on 18 May and was executed without support vessels.
18 May 2025Construction Other
Allseas completed the offshore transport and installation campaign for the BorWin epsilon converter platform for TenneT’s 900 MW BorWin5 grid connection on 18 May (2025). The two‑week campaign concluded with the safe set‑down of the approximately 12,300‑tonne topside on the previously installed 7,500‑tonne jacket, after Pioneering Spirit had carried out transport, installation, piling, and grouting as a single integrated heavy-lift operation.
Jun 2024Cable Installation Start
TenneT commenced laying the BorWin5 submarine cable in June 2024 using NKT Victoria cable-laying vessel. Cable pull-in to BorWin epsilon completed August 2025.
22 Jan 2024Other Permit Awarded
Authority: Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie · Licence: Planfeststellungsbeschluss
Germany’s Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) granted planning approval for TenneT’s BorWin5 offshore grid connection system in the German North Sea, covering the BorWin epsilon offshore converter platform and the submarine transmission cable that will connect the 960 MW He Dreiht offshore wind farm to the mainland. The decision confirms consent for the HVDC converter station and the approximately 120-kilometre submarine cable route via Norderney to Hilgenriedersiel, enabling the 900 MW grid connection to proceed towards construction and commissioning by the end of 2025.
30 Jun 2022Procurement Notice
On 30 June 2022, TenneT launched a tender seeking a provider for marine geophysical UXO survey, identification and clearance services for several offshore cable routes, including an optional scope for the BorWin5 HVDC export cable in the German Bight and EEZ, with the contract scheduled to run from 1 March 2023 to 31 October 2024.
2020Converter Supplier Selected
In 2020, TenneT awarded a consortium of Siemens and Dragados Offshore a contract to build both the onshore and offshore HVDC converter stations for the 900 MW BorWin5 grid connection, establishing them as the main converter platform suppliers for the project.