UK-based Enshore Subsea has secured the contract to install export cables for the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm, one of Scotland’s largest renewable energy projects. The wind farm is set to play a crucial role in helping the UK and Scotland meet their offshore wind energy goals.
Inch Cape will feature two 85km, 220kV, three-phase export cables, which are among the largest in the world based on their diameter and weight. Each cable will be delivered in three sections and will require offshore field joints. Enshore Subsea will manage the entire cable installation process, from transporting the cables to the site, laying and burying them, to providing support during the jointing process and installing the cable protection system.
The company will also handle all pull-in operations, including the installation of the export cables at both the transition joint bay (TJB) in Cockenzie, East Lothian, and the offshore substation off the Angus coastline.
Pierre Boyde, Managing Director of Enshore Subsea, expressed pride in being part of such a significant UK project. “Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm is vital for the UK, and we are excited to contribute. We look forward to working alongside the Inch Cape team and other partners to make this project a reality,” Boyde said.
The Inch Cape project is located 15 to 22 kilometers off the Angus coastline. Enshore Subsea is scheduled to begin offshore work in the summer. The cable laying will be done using the CMOS Installer cable lay vessel, while the cables will be buried with the help of subsea trenchers from Enshore Subsea’s fleet.
John Hill, Project Director at Inch Cape, commented, “We are pleased to have Enshore Subsea on board for the installation of our two 85km export cables. We are currently preparing the landfall construction site for the first cable, which is expected to arrive later this year.”
Once completed, Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm will generate nearly 1.1GW of power. The project will consist of 72 wind turbine generators, each up to 274 meters tall, in water depths ranging from 40 to 59 meters. This contract follows Enshore Subsea’s inter-array trenching work for an offshore wind farm off the east coast of the USA, as well as their ongoing EPCI project in Senegal.
