ABB to supply submarine AC power cable system for UK wind farm

ABB has won an order worth around $55 million to supply a submarine AC (alternating current) power cable system for a new wind farm located off the coast of Norfolk. The underwater cables will feed the electricity generated by the 400 MW Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm into the UK national grid. The order was received from Dudgeon Offshore Wind Limited, a company owned by Statoil and Statkraft.

The Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm will be capable of producing enough electricity to power more than 400,000 UK homes annually. The turbines will be located in waters 18-25 metres deep on a 55-square-kilometre site situated 32 km off the coast of the seaside town of Cromer in north Norfolk. With an installed capacity of about 400 MW, the wind farm will produce enough ‘green’ energy to displace emissions of carbon dioxide by up to 19 million tonnes over its 25-year lifetime.

Electricity generated by the wind farm will be brought to shore via a seabed cable at Weybourne Hope, some 5 km west of the coastal town of Sheringham. From there, an underground cable will be laid to carry the electricity to Necton, where a purpose-built substation will enable it to be transmitted into the national grid.

“Offshore wind is a growing renewable energy resource, with Europe accounting for around 70% of new offshore wind generation capacity. Transporting electricity from offshore wind farms to the shore and then integrating it into the grid for supply to consumers are key elements,” said Claudio Facchin, head of ABB’s Power Systems division.

ABB will design and supply two 132-kilovolt three-core AC submarine cables, each 42 km in length, running from the wind farm’s offshore substation to Weybourne Hope, where they will connect to the onshore cables. The submarine cables will be manufactured at ABB’s high-voltage cable factory in Karlskrona, Sweden, and delivery will commence in 2016.

“The submarine export cable connection is a long-lead item and placing this contract represents a major milestone in the development of the Dudgeon project,” said Bjørn Ivar Bergemo, asset manager of the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm. “These cables will be some of the longest offshore cables ordered so far for a UK offshore wind project, and we look forward to working with ABB.”