VDL Wins TenneT Gig

European transmission system operator TenneT has awarded VDL Network Supplies a contract to support the construction of half of the wintrack pylons (high-voltage pylons) for a new 380 kV high-voltage connection from Borssele to Rilland.

The new pylons, which are some 60 to 80 meters high, will be produced by VDL KTI in Mol (Belgium). The high-voltage pylons will be supplied between early 2021 and late 2022 and erected on the TenneT route between Borsele and Rilland in the province of Zeeland.

The high-voltage lines that connect the pylons will transport electricity originating from wind farms off the coast of Zeeland, which are due to be completed this year and next year.

Project Manager Nicolien Vrisou van Eck from TenneT said: “We have every confidence in our partnership with VDL. If we both approach this task with the same energy and quality we used to realize previous joint projects, on completion we will be able to celebrate yet another successful project”.

William van Hout, Managing Director of VDL Network Supplies said: “We are extremely proud to be able to start constructing so many pylons for TenneT again. TenneT and VDL have a special and long-term partnership. We have supplied some 504 pylons to TenneT in recent decades”.

The wintrack pylon in Zeeland is a new type of pylon developed by TenneT and already in use in various locations in the Netherlands. This pylon comprises two pillar-shaped steel columns and has a significant advantage: the lines are suspended in such a way that the connection creates visual calm in the landscape.

For pylons with a single 380 kV connection and pylons that combine a 380 kV and a 150 kV connection, the magnetic field is smaller than that of an existing connection using traditional lattice pylons. The wintrack pylons are erected approximately 350 to 400 meters apart.