Dong Energy, Fredericia (Denmark) and Nexans Deutschland have signed a contract for the delivery and installation of medium-voltage submarine cables for the West of Duddon Sands wind farm.
The order for the wind farm located 15 kilometres west of Walney Island comprises 122 kilometres of submarine cable for connecting the individual wind turbines both with each other and with the transformer platforms. In addition, two kilometres of cable will be delivered for the internal platform cabling. Installation is scheduled to begin in summer 2013.
Once completed, the wind farm – which is being constructed by the partners DONG Energy and ScottishPower Renewables – will comprise 108 turbines, each generating 3.6 MW of power. When it is commissioned in 2014, West of Duddon Sands will be one of the biggest offshore wind farms in the world. With a total capacity of 389 megawatts (MW), it will be able to supply around 300,000 households in Britain with clean energy.
The contract, which has now been concluded, is the first call-up from the framework agreement for the delivery of up to 900 kilometres of medium-voltage submarine cables concluded last year between DONG Energy and Nexans Deutschland. Over the next few years, the Danish energy company can take delivery of up to 150 kilometres of the Nexans high-performance cables every year for new offshore wind farms.
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Offshore WIND staff, May 14, 2012; Image: nexans