TenneT has officially opened of an offshore wind farm cable storage facility in Eemshaven in the Netherlands.
The facility provides 2309 square metres of floor space, enabling the storage of up to 4600 tonnes of high-voltage electricity cables.
The cables measure between 10cm and 24 cm in diameter, with weights ranging from 30kg to 100kg per metre.
TenneT uses the cables for subsea connections that link offshore wind farms to the onshore grid.
It also uses them for offshore direct-current interconnectors, such as the NorNed cable between the Netherlands and Norway and the planned Cobra cable between the Netherlands and Denmark.
The storage facility includes two ‘turntables’ that are used to roll up the cables.
Each turntable is divided into six sections, allowing storage of 12 different cable systems at any given time to a total of 2300 tonnes.
The Eemshaven location allows vessels to moor in front of the storage facility, facilitating quick and efficient loading and unloading of cables.
It is also located near the converter station for the NorNed cable and the planned landing point of the Cobra cable.
Image: the new TenneT facility (TenneT)
