Siemens will construct two converter stations and provide five years servicing. The stations will be located in Kent, southeast England and Zeebrugge on the Belgian coast.
The 1GW connection project is developed by Nemo Link, a joint venture between the National Grid and the Elia Group. The subsea power link enabling more wind power to be integrated onto the grid.
British and Belgian transmission system operators (TSOs) National Grid and Elia signed a joint-venture agreement to build the Nemo Link in February.
The developer has also awarded a contract to Japanese firm J-Power systems. It will supply the HVDC cable system for the 141-kilometre link.
J-Power will design, manufacture and install the cables. They were designed to have a higher operating temperature than other systems. J-Power said this allowed for an extra safety margin in the if there is excess power on the system.
The combined contracts total €500 million. Elia said work on the system is due to start in 2015 with commissioning scheduled for 2019.
