JDR Cable Systems, Ltd., reports that it has won a contract from Equinor to supply the cables for the first floating offshore wind project to power oil and gas platforms.

A press release said that the project calls for JDR to supply 11 66kV dynamic inter-array cables (2. 5 km long each) and two static export cables (one 12. 9 km, the other 16 km), each equipped with a JDR designed breakaway system, and a range of cable accessories. The off-shore location is in the Tampen area in the North Sea, and delivery is scheduled for 2022.

The project, the release said, will be the first worldwide to power oil and gas platforms using floating offshore wind, which it described as “a far more technically challenging and less mature technology than traditional fixed-foundation offshore wind.” It said that cables pose a particular challenge due to the high dynamic stress they must withstand.

The Hywind Tampen project will consist of 11 wind turbines developed by Equinor. The 8 MW turbines will have a total capacity of 88 MW, capable of meeting about 35 per cent of the annual power demand of the five Snorre A and B, Gullfaks A, B and C oil and gas platforms. The floating wind project is in water depths of 300 meters, much deeper than any previous floating wind project and is the first ever to power oil and gas platforms. The cabes that will be delivered to connect the loop to the Snorre A and Gullfaks A platforms will be especially designed to withstand higher water pressures.

JDR, part of Poland’s TFKable Group, notes in the release that it has already been active in the fledgling sub-sector of this new niche, delivering the world’s first application of dynamic 66kV technology and breakaway system to the Windfloat Atlantic floating wind farm last year. The power cores for the cables will be manufactured by JDR’s parent company TFKable at its Bydgoszcz factory in Poland. All the cables and accessories will be assembled at JDR’s U.K. facilities in Hartlepool.

U.K.-based JDR Cable Systems (JDR) reports that it has  won a multi-million pound contract to supply inter-array cables and termination work for Ørsted’s record-breaking, 1.4 GW offshore wind farm, Hornsea Project Two.

A press release said that, when operational in 2022, the wind farm will supply electricity to over 1.3 million homes, and surpass its sister project Hornsea One, as the world’s largest offshore wind farm. The contract calls for JDR, part of Poland’s TFKable Group, to supply 100 km of inter-array cables that will be assembled in JDR’s Hartlepool facility. The inter-array cables link the wind farm turbines together, and carry the power to an offshore substation, which converts it to a higher voltage for transmission to shore.

The project, the release said, is Ørsted’s first in the U.K. to use 66 kV for its array cables, having used 33kV for previous projects. Using cables with a higher voltage helps to reduce electrical losses during transmission.

“This contract builds on experience from previous projects including Race Bank offshore wind farm, which we opened earlier this year, and Hornsea Project One, currently in construction,” said Patrick Harnett, the procurement and construction director for the project. “As our wind farm projects have grown in size, and distance from shore, so too have the contracts we place within the supply chain. The technology we use is also changing as we innovate to build these projects at massively lower cost of electricity into the U.K.’s grid.”

JDR CEO Richard Turner said that, “Hornsea Project Two ... will be built at the lowest ever price seen in the U.K.”

Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke (NSW), a subsidiary of General Cable, has been contracted by Van Oord, an international marine contractor, to design, manufacture and deliver inter-array cables for Deutsche Bucht offshore wind farm.

Per subsea world news, the NSW will deliver 45 km of medium-voltage submarine power cables for the Deutsche Bucht, which is owned by Northland Power. Delivery of the submarine cables is scheduled for spring of 2019, the company said.

Van Oord will deploy its offshore installation vessel Aeolus and cable-laying vessel Nexus for the installation works. The Deutsche Bucht offshore wind farm is located in the North Sea, approximately 95 km north-west of the island of Borkum. It includes 31 MHI Vestas Offshore Wind 164-8.0MW (8.4MW Power Mode) turbines, which will generate a total output of 252 MW.

Upon its planned completion in late 2019, the wind farm will provide renewable energy to more than 178,000 households..