Once complete, Ørsted’s Hornsea 3 wind farm will power more than three million UK homes.
Made up of the jacket, which is piled into the seabed, and the topside, which sits above, the offshore converter station will help transform power from the wind farm’s turbines before it is sent to the UK via cable.
The converter station towers 70 metres above sea level (Image: Ørsted)
The converter station towers 70 metres above sea level – taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
It was built in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, before sailing more than 13,000 nautical miles to Haugesund, Norway, for the installation and commissioning of high-voltage equipment.
Luke Bridgman, managing director of Ørsted’s Hornsea 3, said: “The installation of this offshore converter station is a major milestone for Hornsea 3, and a great example of what detailed planning, strong collaboration and disciplined execution can achieve.
“It reflects the technical expertise of our team and contract partners and a clear, unwavering focus on safety at every stage.
“2026 has got off to a great start for Hornsea 3.”
The Ørsted Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm cable route comes ashore at Weybourne on the north Norfolk coast before reaching a substation at Swardeston, near Norwich (Image: Ørsted)
The first cable for Horsea 3 – weighing 50kg per metre – was pulled ashore at the Norfolk village of Weybourne last week.
Once reaching landfall, the cable will be buried underground on a 30-mile (50-kilometre) route through the countryside, arriving at an onshore converter station in Swardeston on the outskirts of Norwich.
Throughout 2026, more than 420 miles (680 kilometres) of export cable will be laid, allowing energy generated by the wind farm to reach over 3.3 million UK homes.
The fabrication of the Hornsea 3 export cables began three years ago and will be completed this summer.
The wind farm is located around 75 miles (120 kilometres) off the coast of Norfolk.