The cable installation vessel Living Stone has commenced the inter-array cabling work at the SeaMade offshore wind farm.
The cable load-out took place in Hartlepool, UK, where the cable supplier JDR Cable Systems is based.
JDR signed a contract with DEME, which is in charge of installing the cables, in June 2019. The contract includes the delivery of 78.1 kilometres of aluminium core inter-array cables, as well as cable accessories.
The 33 kV cable system, connecting the wind farm’s 58 Siemens Gamesa 8.4 MW turbines, will carry the electricity to SeaMade’s two offshore substations. The offshore substations will convert the electricity from 33 kV to 220 kV and export it into the grid via Elia’s Modular Offshore Grid (MOG).
DEME has also been in charge of the installation of the export cable. The Living Stone completed the export cable works in December 2019.
The Innovation vessel put the final foundation in place on 2 January. Also, both of SeaMade’s offshore substations have been in place since mid-March. The wind turbine installation , which has been assigned to DEME’s installation vessel Apollo, is expected to start soon.
“COVID-19 is a tough stretch for our teams at sea and on shore, but we keep going as One DEME, One Team” , DEME stated via social media.