On Sunday 5 March some extraordinary and spectacular transport weighing 5,000 tons could be seen on the river Scheldt. Early that morning a so-called substation left the Fabricom site in Hoboken, near Antwerp, to be towed to Race Bank wind farm off Norfolk, on the east coast of Great Britain. Substations are giant transformers that collect and transmit the electricity from tens of sea-based windmills inland. Belgium is the market leader in the construction of such amazing high-tech installations.
The foot at the front of the structure is pinned tight into the seabed as it were. The actual substation rests on top. The windmill cables are then connected, together with those used to carry high voltages inland.
Fabricom, the specialist in onshore and offshore projects, began by constructing modules for installations and stations for the oil and gas industry. They later entered the wind energy market. Meanwhile its substations adorn the Dutch, German and British coastlines. Three more can be found in Hoboken, all ready for delivery, while a further three are on order, representing around 300 jobs. Furthermore, there is still plenty of market share to be gained in Europe. Race Bank is a contract worth tens of millions of euros, because, as well as construction, it includes the transport, the installation and the maintenance of the substation.
