Equinor has awarded Ocean Installer a contract for installation of dynamic array cables on the 88MW Hywind Tampen floating wind farm off Norway.
The development consists of 11 floating wind turbines from 8MW to 8.6MW.
Ocean Installer has been contracted to transport and install five 2.5km dynamic inter-array cables in water depths between 260 metres and 300 metres.
These cables will connect existing turbines in field to four new wind turbines being installed and commissioned in 2023, bringing the wind farm up to its full system capacity of 88MW.
CEO of Ocean Installer, Kevin Murphy, said: “Securing this work is a key step in delivering Ocean Installer’s strategy of leveraging our extensive marine construction experience from complex oil and gas projects to enter the floating wind market.
“The global floating wind industry is on the verge of commercialisation, and it is very encouraging to see that our capabilities are so readily transferable to this new market.
“It is also further testimony to our team’s competence and agile business model that we have been trusted to engineer and execute these complex dynamic product installations in less than six months from contract award to installation.”
Ocean Installer will make use of CSV Normand Vision equipped with an underdeck carousel and Vertical Lay System for installation of the cables, a vessel that has been with Ocean Installer since delivery in 2014.
Hywind Tampen is estimated to meet about 35% of the annual electricity power demand of five offshore oil and gas platforms at Snorre A and B, and Gullfaks A, B and C.