Equinor has awarded Nexans a contract to supply power export cable for its floating solar offshore pilot Froya in Norway.
The pilot project is scheduled to come online in December 2021 and will be the world’s first floating solar plant operating in rough offshore waters.
The Froya floating plant will measure 80 metres by 80 metres, with a height of less than three metres above the sea surface, hosting an array of solar panels capable of producing up to 1MW.
Utility-scale floating solar power is currently one of the fastest growing renewable technologies as governments and investors around the world explore every possibility for safer, sustainable and decarbonised energy.
This is expected to drive almost 10GW of new floating solar deployment by 2025.
Nexans will supply 22kW export cable of 5km to connect the floating platform from shallow waters to land.
The most challenging aspect for the cable construction is to handle the dynamic loadings as the connection at the platform end pitches up and down with the waves.
Nexans is utilizing a three-core cable design of a type well proven in offshore wind farm and fish farming installations.
The cable will be manufactured at Rognan plant in Norway.
Nexans vice president of the submarine telecom and special cables business unit Krister Granlie said: “Our mission for Nexans is to electrify the world.
“That means exploring every possible opportunity to help develop new sources of green energy.
“So, we are delighted to be working once again with Equinor on a truly exciting project that further extends the boundaries of what might be possible in generating renewable energy offshore.”