WFW advises Vattenfall on HVDC grid connection infrastructure delivery

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised long-standing client Vattenfall on its signing of a contract with Siemens and Aker Solutions to deliver grid connection infrastructure for the Norfolk Boreas Offshore Wind Farm off the east coast of the UK.

Under the contract, Siemens and Aker Solutions will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the High Voltage Direct Current (“HVDC”) onshore and offshore substations and connection to the National Grid. HVDC offers one of the most efficient means of transmitting large amounts of power over long distances. This is also one of the first uses of HVDC technology for an offshore wind farm in the UK.

The large-scale Norfolk Boreas project is set to be one of the largest in the world and once complete will produce renewable energy equivalent to the needs of over four million households and save circa six million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Vattenfall is one of Europe’s largest producers and retailers of electricity and heat with its key markets in Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK, and one of the leading offshore wind developers in Europe.

The WFW London Projects team advising Vattenfall was led by Partner Martin Lucas supported by Senior Associate James Fryer.

Martin commented: “It was a pleasure to once again advise Vattenfall on another notable deal, at a time when the expansion of renewable energy is more important than ever. The Norfolk Projects, to include Vanguard too, will power more than 4m homes when complete, making a massive contribution to net zero. This deal highlights WFW’s unrivalled expertise in offshore wind of the biggest scale”.

About WFW
Watson Farley & Williams is a sector specialist international law firm with a focus on the energy, transport and infrastructure sectors. With offices in Athens, Bangkok, Dubai, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanoi, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, New York, Paris, Rome, Singapore and Sydney, our 580+ lawyers work as integrated teams to provide practical, commercially focussed advice to our clients around the world.