Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK has received delivery of the first cables for the onshore works at the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm to be located off the east coast of England.
The contractor said approximately 129km of cabling will be installed for the first two 1.2GW phases of the wind farm at a site near Hull.
Deliveries will take place every fortnight, with 82 cable drums to be transported to the site over the course of the scheme.
Each drum weighs 41 tonnes, with the combined weight (3362 tonnes) heavier than Wimbledon’s Centre Court roof (3000 tonnes).
Bristol-based high voltage electrical engineering specialists Powersystems will support the Jones Bros during the installation of the cables.
Jones Bros project manager James Lockwood said: “The arrival of the cable drums marks a significant point in our works on the grid connection and land-based infrastructure.
“The site team have done a fantastic job over the past four months to allow for deliveries of the cables to start on time and on programme.
“The 80 miles of cabling will be used along a 20 mile route to help connect the offshore wind farm to the national grid, and we remain committed to minimising disruption in the local area as we carry out this work.”
Dogger Bank onshore project manager Oliver Flattery said: “The Jones Bros team has worked hard since the start of 2020 to safely and efficiently prepare the ground in East Riding, in readiness for more than 3000 tonnes of cables to be installed from July onwards.
“We thank local residents and businesses for their patience over the last 18 months, and continue to focus on operating safely and with minimal disruption as we progress our work with the installation of the cables that will transmit renewable energy to millions of UK homes.”
Dogger Bank is currently being developed in three 1.2GW phases, known as Dogger Bank A, B and C.
Dogger Bank A and B are owned by SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni%), while Dogger Bank C is a 50:50 joint venture between SSE Renewables and Equinor.