The export cable connections to the 487MW Seamade offshore wind farm off the coast of Belgium have been tested and energised.
A consortium of DEME Offshore and Hellenic Cables carried out the design, supply, installation and commissioning works on the wires.
The cables connect Seamade’s Mermaid and Seastar concessions to Belgium’s modular offshore grid (MOG).
Seamade chief executive Mathias Verkest said: “Another important milestone for the Seamade offshore wind farm as this is an essential step towards the actual production of green energy.
“A big thank you to the Otary team, all subcontractors and partners working extremely hard during these testing times whilst adhering to the highest health and safety standards.
“By the end of 2020, Seamade will be operational with a capacity of 487MW providing 485,000 households of green energy.
“I am very proud about the fact that Seamade contributes significantly to Belgium’s binding goal of having 13% of our energy produced out of renewable energy sources by 2020.
“Half of this renewable energy production will come from offshore wind energy. SeaMade will contribute to almost one quarter of the required offshore energy production.”
DEME Offshore general manager Bart De Poorter said: “This is a great achievement of the project team and a significant step closer to the production of more green energy in Belgium.
“This milestone underlines our unrivalled expertise in the complete cable installation process, from design to commissioning.
“I would especially like to thank Hellenic Cables for the excellent cooperation and technical partnership that has proved to be very efficient in these challenging times.
“We currently continue the inter-array cable installation and prepare for a safe and successful turbine installation campaign, kicking off mid-June.”
Hellenic Cables chief executive Alexios Alexiou said: “Seamade marks our second and very successful 220kV submarine cable project in Belgium, together with DEME Offshore, who proved to be a valuable partner in this effort.
“As a company indirectly headquartered in Belgium through our parent company Cenergy Holdings, we are proud to contribute to the country’s environmental and sustainability targets with our involvement in Belgium’s largest offshore wind project.
“Further, the successful execution of Seamade project is another proof to our commitment to competitive and high-quality cabling solutions for the offshore wind industry globally, especially in the current challenging times that the whole world is facing.”
Seamade is being developed by Otary and will comprise 58 Siemens Gamesa 8.4MW turbines with 167-metre rotor diameters.