EDS HV Group has completed its scope of work at Vattenfall’s European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), also known as the Aberdeen offshore wind farm.
EDS, part of James Fisher and Sons, was sub-contracted by Boskalis for the cable termination and testing work.
Located off Aberdeen Bay, the 93.2MW offshore wind farm has 11 wind turbines, including the two of the most powerful units ever installed – the MHI Vestas 8.8MW turbines.
The EOWDC project has enabled Swedish energy group Vattenfall, the developers behind the wind farm, to trial new technology and is only the second commercial offshore wind farm worldwide to use a 66kV cabling system. Compared with conventional 33kV cabling less inter-array cabling is required, and this reduces construction costs, EDS said.
EDS completed the cable termination and testing work on the 11 assets.
In addition, EDS HV Management also provided HV consulting services to the EOWDC as part of a separate contract that included safety rules implementation, the supply of Senior Authorised Persons (SAPs), network and SCADA system review and commissioning support services.
Ken Ritson , Group Managing Director of EDS, said: “66kV is quickly becoming the industry norm, and any change such as this needs to be carefully managed. EDS were happy to offer the enhanced level of competence and experience required to help to manage this change.”
Overall, the EOWDC involved just over 21km of cabling from the offshore site to the substation in Blackdog, Aberdeenshire – similar to the distance from Aberdeen to Stonehaven.