By mid-December 2024, 50Hertz had awarded a contract to a consortium of Drydocks World and GE Vernova for the Ostwind 4 2 GW offshore grid connection in the German Baltic Sea, selecting GE Vernova as the supplier of the 525 kV HVDC converter technology. The project, located about 30 km northeast of Rügen Island, includes offshore and onshore converter stations and a 110 km DC cable system, with Drydocks World handling EPCI and fabrication of the offshore converter platform topsides and jackets in Dubai, while GE Vernova provides voltage-sourced converters, transformers, SF6-free gas‑insulated switchgear, onshore civil works, and grid automation equipment before the platform is transported and installed in German waters.
BNetzA confirmed Ostwind 4 in Netzentwicklungsplan (NEP) 2037/2045 (2023) on 1 March 2024. This confirmation under §12c EnWG creates the legal basis for the responsible TSO to plan, procure, and construct the offshore grid connection system.
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Ostwind 4 is a 2,000 MW offshore grid connection being developed by the German transmission system operator 50Hertz to transport offshore wind generation from the Arkona Basin / O‑2.2 area to the German mainland. The connection will use VSC HVDC technology configured to the 2 GW / 525 kV standard...
Owners
OST-2-4, OST-2-4 (Ostwind 4)
BNetzA confirmed the Netzentwicklungsplan Strom 2037/2045 (2023 edition) on 1 March 2024 under section 12c of the German Energy Industry Act (EnWG). This confirmation creates the legal basis and obligation for the responsible TSO to plan, procure, and construct this offshore grid connection system. For regulated German TSO offshore grid connections, the BNetzA NEP confirmation functions as the de facto Final Investment Decision: unlike merchant or developer-led projects that require a separate board-level investment decision and financial close, the NEP confirmation simultaneously authorises and obligates the TSO to invest. Costs are recovered through the offshore grid levy (Offshore-Netzumlage). The NEP 2037/2045 (2023) schedules 25,980 MW of offshore transmission capacity across 16 grid connection systems for commissioning between 2026 and 2032.
On 29 September 2023, German TSO 50Hertz signed firm project and framework contracts with NKT under which NKT was selected to supply the 525 kV HVDC onshore and submarine cable systems for the Ost-2-4 area (Ostwind 4) offshore grid connection off the island of Rügen. As part of a record multi-project award valued at about €3.5bn for five 50Hertz schemes, NKT will deliver approximately 345 km of core cables for Ostwind 4 to connect 2 GW of offshore wind in the Baltic Sea, and will also install the subsea sections using its own cable-laying vessels, with the projects expected to be commissioned between 2029 and 2035.
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