KUALA LUMPUR (June 4): Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (KL:MHB) said on Tuesday that it has secured a subcontract worth RM1.5 billion to build an offshore substation at a wind farm in the Netherlands.

Fabrication works of the substation platform — which receives power produced from the wind farm and stepped up before being transmitted onshore — will begin in 2025 for 36 months, MHB said in an exchange filing. The subcontract is expected to be completed by 2028, it noted.

The project, named the Nederwiek 1, “underscores MHB’s commitment to sustainable energy infrastructure development,” the company said. The subcontract would be its second offshore wind project, MHB noted.

The substation, which will comprise a topside weighing about 30,000 tonnes and a 10,000-tonne jacket, forms part of TenneT BV’s landmark two-gigawatt project in Europe. Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium have agreed to install at least 65 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, together by 2030.

TenneT, the national electricity transmission system operator of the Netherlands, will account for 40 gigawatts of the target, with 20 gigawatts each in the German and Dutch North Seas.

“This recent subcontract win is a crucial milestone for MHB,” said MHB chief executive officer Mohd Nazir Mohd Nor. “It signifies our contribution to TenneT’s programme, supporting the rapid development of large-scale offshore wind infrastructure projects, which are crucial to Europe’s energy transition.”

The subcontract from the UK-based Petrofac involves construction engineering, fabrication, mechanical completion, load out and sea fastening, and architectural works on the high-voltage direct current platform, consisting of topside and jacket.

“Serving as a vital component of TenneT’s groundbreaking two-gigawatt programme in the Netherlands, this OSS (offshore substation) reaffirms MHB’s pivotal role in advancing clean energy solutions,” the company said.

MHB had earlier secured the first subcontract for the IJmuiden Ver Alpha project in November 2023, also from Petrofac. In addition, MHB and Petrofac will collaborate towards the possibility of another OSS of similar size, the company added.