Dredging and maritime engineering company DEME, based in Zwijndrecht in Antwerp province, has been awarded a contract to lay 650km of cable for the Dogger Bank wind farm off the British coast.
According to reports, the contract is the largest of its type ever to be awarded. It involves the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the material, and is known as an PCI contract.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is located more than 130km off the North East coast of England and is currently being developed in three 1.2 GW phases by joint venture partners SSE Renewables and Equinor.
When completed, Dogger Bank will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, generating enough energy to power over 4.5 million homes every year – around 5% of the UK’s electricity requirements.
The job will start in 2021, and works will be carried out by the dedicated cable-laying vessel Living Stone, which can carry 10,000 tonnes of cable at one time.
“We are very proud to have been awarded this exceptional project, which represents the largest ever inter-array cable contract in the world to date,” said Bart De Poorter, DEME Offshore’s general manager.
“The renowned cable-laying capabilities and stellar reputation of Living Stone were key factors in securing this important contract.”
DEME will be working together with British companies SSR Renewables for development and Equinor for operations and maintenance.
“Dogger Bank Wind Farm is pioneering new technology, and at the forefront of scaling up significant energy infrastructure,” commented Halfdan Brustad, vice president for Dogger Bank at Equinor.
“This contract, for the largest ever order for inter array cables, demonstrates the sheer scale of this project: when complete it will be able to generate around 5% of the UK’s electricity needs with power from the wind. The dual lane system on the ‘Living Stone’ means we can reduce the time needed to install the cables, which for a project of this size greatly helps to reduce costs.”
Alan Hope
The Brussels Times
