Cable deals signed for two UK projects

UK: Agreements have been signed for export cable systems at two offshore wind farms off the UK with a combined capacity of more than 2GW.

NKT and Nexans are in line to supply export cables for Inch Cape and Hornsea Two respectively

NKT, in a consortium with Boskalis Subsea Cables & Flexibles, has signed a pre-construction agreement for the delivery and installation of the export cable system for the 784MW Inch Cape wind farm.

Meanwhile, French firm Nexans will supply the export cable system for the near-shore section of Ørsted’s 1,386MW Hornsea Two project.

The projects could both be online in 2022.

Inch Cape

Danish company NKT will supply 170 kilometres of 220kV alternating current (AV) offshore export cables for Inch Cape, which is being developed by a subsidiary of Scottish developer Red Rock Power.

Dutch installation specialist Boskalis will install the system in either 2022 or 2023, NKT stated.

The agreement is conditional upon final contract negotiations and the project owners providing NKT notice to proceed, the Danish firm added.

NKT expects this to happen in the second half of 2020 if the project is successful in the UK’s next contracts for difference (CfD) auction, which is due to take in May 2019.

Inch Cape is being developed in the North Sea, 22 kilometres off the east coast of Scotland.

Hornsea Two

Nexans, meanwhile, will supply more than 200 kilometres of 245kV AC offshore export cables for the closer-to-shore section of Hornsea 2 site, which is being developed off the east coast of England.

The cables will link the wind farm’s reactive power substation to the onshore substation, the French company explained.

It will manufacture the cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) cables at its site in Halden, south-west Norway.

Completion of Hornsea Two, which will comprise 165 of Siemens Gamesa’s SG-8.0-167DD turbines, is scheduled for 2022.