Global Marine group’s cable-lay subsidiary Global Offshore has signed a five-year framework agreement covering export cable repairs at three UK offshore wind farms totalling over 1GW.
The Chelmsford-based company will provide its ‘Complete Cable Care’ solution to high-voltage lines at RWE’s 219MW Humber Gateway, Innogy’s 576MW Gwynt Y Mor off Wales and Vattenfall’s 300MW Thanet off Kent.
Global Offshore said it will respond quickly to future power cable damage using in-house vessels and a maintained stock of universal power joints and cable.
The deal has been signed with transmission owner Balfour Beatty Investments and Equitix (BBE) and covers 152km of subsea lines.
“Export cable faults have serious implications on the amount of energy that can be harnessed and utilised from an offshore wind farm, so proactive intervention before they happen as well as quick action when they do occur make all the difference to minimising any loss in revenue,” Global Offshore director of power cable maintenance Andrew Lloyd said.
BBE said the deal will help them increase the availability of the wind farms in future.
“The contingency plan for a subsea cable fault identified the potential time and cost savings that could be achieved by entering into a framework agreement with a marine repair contractor, so BBE is delighted to have signed this five-year agreement with the Global Marine Group,” BBE representative John Sinclair said.