Jan de Nul has completed the installation of second submarine cable for offshore wind farm West Alpha off the coast of Egmond aan Zee for TenneT.
Working with LS Cable & System, the installation was carried out by the cable laying vessel Isaac Newton, the work vessel Adhémar de Saint-Venant and a remote-controlled cable burial vehicle.
In recent weeks, more than sixty kilometres of cable have been laid in the seabed between the beach of Heemskerk and the ‘socket’ that grid operator TenneT has built at sea, Jan de Nul said.
Last summer, Jan de Nul pulled four submarine cables from the beach of Heemskerk in mantle tubes under the dunes.
After the installation of the two submarine cables for the Hollandse Kust (north) wind farm, the first kilometres of the two cables for ‘west Alpha’ were capped in the seabed.
Following the successful installation of the first submarine cable, Jan de Nul brought the capped part of the second cable for ‘west Alpha’ to the surface in April – about five kilometres from the beach.
After the coupling by the team of the South Korean cable manufacturer LS Cable & System, the cable was laid back on the seabed.
At the same time, the work vessel Adhémar de Saint-Venant appeared off the coast with the unmanned cable laying vehicle UTV1200 on board.
As soon as the Isaac Newton started sailing, the cable slowly unwound from the large turntable on board, followed by the Adhémar de Saint-Venant for the control of the UTV1200, which then laid the cable in the seabed.
Once the tests have been completed, TenneT will deliver the connection for ‘west Alpha’ in the first quarter of 2024.
After that, it will be the turn of operator Ecowende (Shell/Eneco) to build its 700MW wind farm, so that the turbines at sea can produce energy from wind in 2026.