The inter-array cable installation at Nordseecluster A offshore wind farm in Germany is complete, with 48 cables laid, buried, terminated, and tested.
“Cables rarely draw the attention that foundations, substations, or turbines do. Yet this package – laying, burial, termination, testing – is one of the most coordination-intensive scopes of any offshore wind farm: four vessels, more than 200 people, parallel works running across the site every day”, said Tobias Keitel, CTO of RWE Offshore Wind GmbH, on social media.
About 185 kilometers of 66 kV aluminium and copper conductor cables, supplied by Hellenic Cables and installed by DeepOcean, connect the wind farm’s turbines with two offshore substations at Nordseecluster A, completed earlier this year.
At the end of last year, Jan De Nul installed three HVAC subsea cables delivered by Hellenic Cables between TenneT’s offshore converter station, DolWin kappa, and the Nordseecluster 1 and 2 sites housing the Nordseecluster A offshore substations.
The first wind turbine was installed this month by DEME’s vessel Norse Wind, capable of transporting and installing up to five turbine sets per cycle.
The 660 MW Nordseecluster A will have 44 Vestas 15 MW wind turbines, expected to be installed by the end of 2026. The wind farm, part of the 1.6 GW Nordseecluster development, should be fully operational by early 2027.
The second phase, Nordseecluster B, will add another 900 MW, totaling 1.6 GW. Foundation installation at the second site starts next year, followed by 60 Vestas 15 MW turbines in 2028.
Nordseecluster B is expected to begin operations in early 2029.
The 1.6 GW Nordseecluster, located about 50 kilometers north of the island of Juist, is owned by RWE (51%) and Norges Bank Investment Management (49%), with RWE managing construction and long-term operations.
Original Story at www.offshorewind.biz