EnBW has initiated the installation of the first submarine cable for the internal wind farm cabling connecting all 64 wind turbines of the He Dreiht offshore wind farm, with Seaway7 commissioned to handle the task, according to EnBW's release.
Two installation vessels are set to lay and bury approximately 100 kilometers of 66-kilovolt cables on the North Sea seabed by summer, after which the cables will be pulled into the turbine foundations and connected, with cables manufactured by JDR in the UK.
The internal cabling will later link to a converter platform managed by transmission system operator TenneT, scheduled for offshore installation in the summer, where electricity will be concentrated, converted from alternating current to direct current, and transmitted ashore via two high-voltage DC export cables.
He Dreiht, currently Germany’s largest offshore wind farm with a 960-megawatt capacity, is located 85 kilometers northwest of Borkum and 110 kilometers west of Heligoland, developed without state funding at a cost of 2.4 billion euros, coordinated by EnBW’s Hamburg office.
The project involves over 500 workers at peak times and more than 60 vessels, with 64 foundations installed last year; installation of Vestas wind turbines, each with a 15 MW output, is slated to begin in spring, aiming to supply electricity to approximately 1.1 million households.
EnBW, based in Karlsruhe, Germany, is a major energy utility supplying 5.5 million customers, with a focus on expanding its 976 MW offshore wind capacity.
Seaway7, headquartered in London, UK, is a global leader in offshore wind installation, specializing in submarine cable and foundation services.
JDR, based in Hartlepool, UK, is a cable manufacturing company with expertise in supplying 66 kV submarine cables for over 50 offshore wind projects worldwide.