RWE has completed all the major onshore electrical system construction works for the 857MW Triton Knoll offshore wind farm off eastern England.
The works, which started in September 2018, involved laying 57km of 220kV underground cable from the project’s landfall location near Anderby Creek to the newly constructed Triton Knoll onshore substation near Bicker Fen.
A further 1.8km of 400kV cabling was installed to allow connection into the UK national grid at the existing National Grid Bicker Fen substation.
J Murphy & Sons carried out the 57km onshore cable installation.
J Murphy managing director for energy Graham Carr said: “It’s a great honour to be involved in delivering one of the UK’s most significant infrastructure projects, and the longest cable route of any offshore wind farm ever installed in the UK.
“This was a great project that demonstrated the skills and capabilities of our teams and help deliver renewable energy safely and reliably to thousands of homes and businesses.”
Siemens Energy was responsible for the construction of both the onshore and offshore substations and the installation of the 400kV cabling.
Siemens Energy project director Phil Manley said: “I’m incredibly proud of the Siemens Energy team who has delivered this vital infrastructure project in challenging times.
“As a responsible contractor, it has been important to us that the only mark we leave on the landscape is the state-of-the-art substation which will feed the clean electricity generated offshore to the thousands of homes and businesses in the area.
“We are delighted this work is now complete and the wind farm takes a step towards completion.”
RWE and Triton Knoll project director Julian Garnsey said: “We have worked closely with all our supply chain to ensure that construction progressed safely and efficiently, even during the Coronavirus pandemic.
“We’d like to thank everyone involved for their dedication to ensuring the safety of all whilst building this nationally significant infrastructure project.
“We’d also like to thank the local communities and landowners for their understanding and cooperation while we completed the construction works.
“Land has been handed back to owners ahead of schedule in many locations and reinstatement works are complete, with the vast majority of the land already returned to agricultural use.”
Triton Knoll generated its first electricity in February 2021.