the website for more relevant articles: http://bit.ly/offshore-cabeling

1. Offshore Cabling: The Hidden Arteries Of The Wind Industry
Contributor: Asdza Nadleehe
Renewable energy production through offshore wind farms is an increasingly important part of
modern life, as providers look to supply power through sustainable means.
While it looks from a distance like it is just the blades which are doing the hard work, much of
the success of this technology is down to the underwater cables.
These are responsible for 10 per cent of the cost of a project, with engineers needing to ensure
that any power which is created from the windmills is transported back to land and onto the grid.
Furthermore, faults with cables account for 70 percent of insurance claims in this sector, and
repairing them can be a major job.
Cabling issues
In January 2012, Vattenfall's 300MW Thanet offshore wind farm had to run a reduced service
because of cable issues. The project is the biggest offshore-based energy initiative in the world,
and relies on two export cables to take power back to the onshore network.
The farm cost £780 million and is home to 100 turbines which help to generate enough electricity
to power up to 200,000 properties.
One of these cables developed a fault after two separate problems and it led to costly repairs
being carried out. "We completed work on a section of the cable that had been bent at too acute
an angle in November. But on energisation, we identified another fault on a different point closer
to the substation," a spokesperson for Vattenfall told RechargeNews.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
IQPC GmbH | Friedrichstr. 94 | D-10117 Berlin, Germany
t: +49 (0) 30 2091 3330 | f: +49 (0) 30 2091 3263 | e: eq@iqpc.de | w: www.iqpc.de
Visit IQPC for a portfolio of topic-related events, congresses, seminars and conferences: www.iqpc.de

2. Pointing to one of the major considerations of offshore work – the weather – the representative
added that the company was hoping to have the repairs completed in February, although "there is
no guarantee".
It appears that the secret to success when laying cables for an offshore project is in the planning,
according to one expert.
John Davies, Global Marine Systems' managing director of subsea services, told RechargeNews
that installers should be involved in the preparation phase from the earliest possible opportunity.
He noted that "understanding the concept, getting the engineering right, and building proper
processes" were the keys to forming a successful and trouble-free offshore wind farm.
Mr Davies went on to say that not only is personnel shortage a problem, but so too is the
availability of the types of barges which are capable of installing more than 100km of cable.
"Personnel with plenty of experience in project work are in short supply. While the client wants
the A-team out there, quite often we can only find the B-plus team. As an industry, we have to -
invest in new people," he added.
Mike Prowse, business manager for the renewable energy market at Global Marine Systems
Limited, previously explained that some of the biggest threats to offshore cabling are anchor
damage from vessels, trawler board harm from fishing boats and general abrasion.
While there are options to counter these threats, such as choosing the appropriate burial into the
seabed, there are a host of environmental constraints which should be taken into account.
A presentation delivered by Mr Prowse pointed to restrictions on burial tools which will cause
sediment plumes affecting shellfish, along with timing the installation correctly to avoid
restrictions in fish spawning grounds.
Towards a European supergrid
The prize for combating all of these cable installation problems could be a European supergrid.
This would allow countries like Scotland – where wind farms are prevalent – and Spain, whose
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
IQPC GmbH | Friedrichstr. 94 | D-10117 Berlin, Germany
t: +49 (0) 30 2091 3330 | f: +49 (0) 30 2091 3263 | e: eq@iqpc.de | w: www.iqpc.de
Visit IQPC for a portfolio of topic-related events, congresses, seminars and conferences: www.iqpc.de

3. use of solar panels is growing, to connect together and share generated power through underwater
systems.
Currently, Britain is working with European neighbours like France, Germany, Norway and
Sweden to build the North Sea Countries Offshore Grid Initiative. Although some way off at the
moment, the project could be the start of something special, which would see power being carried
anywhere between Ireland and North Africa.
The initiative will also be boosted by founding member Denmark, which is taking up a six-month
stint as president of the European Union. The country is one of the top nations when it comes to
wind energy and Martin Lindgreen, head of department at its Ministry of Climate, Energy and
Building, told Utility Week that green projects will be a strong focus over the next half year.
http://www.energyIQ-online.com/renewable/articles/offshore-cabling-the-arteries-of-the-
wind-industry/
Energy IQ, a division of IQPC 2012 All rights reserved.
Want to know more about offshore cabeling?
Check out our Download Centre, where you will find
more articles, white papers and interviews regarding this
topic: http://bit.ly/offshore-cabeling
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
IQPC GmbH | Friedrichstr. 94 | D-10117 Berlin, Germany
t: +49 (0) 30 2091 3330 | f: +49 (0) 30 2091 3263 | e: eq@iqpc.de | w: www.iqpc.de
Visit IQPC for a portfolio of topic-related events, congresses, seminars and conferences: www.iqpc.de