Equinor has signed a deal with Prysmian for the supply of the submarine array cable system for the 816MW Empire Wind offshore wind farm off the coast of New York.
Prysmian will provide the 66kV insulated array cables and ancillaries that will transmit power from the wind turbines which will have a capacity in the range of 10-15MW.
The construction of the cable system’s power cores is set to begin by the end of December 2019.
Prysmian will be responsible for the design, supply and storage of approximately 150km of 66kV insulated array cables, which will transmit twice the current industry standard ensured by 33kV systems.
Equinor Wind US president Christer af Geijerstam said: “This agreement marks an important step forward in the development of Empire Wind and will allow us to transport twice as much power over a single inter-array cable as current industry practice.
“The agreement with Prysmian will help ensure that Empire Wind brings affordable and renewable energy to New Yorkers as efficiently as possible.”
The cables will be made in Prysmian’s factories in Montereau, in France and Nordenham, in Germany ready for summer, 2022.
Final installation will start in 2023 or 2024.
“We are proud to support Equinor in this important challenge, providing North American power grids with our top-quality cables, our expertise and cutting-edge technologies able to support the clean energy transition in the US,” added Hakan Ozmen projects business unit executive vice president at Prysmian.