Vattenfall completing Ormonde electricity export cable. Vattenfall has a thirty-turbine wind farm off Barrow-in-Furness.
It was after finishing three months of cable engineering works. All by completing the connection from the Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm to the National Grid.
The 42km export cable, which also is taking power from the wind farm to the mainland.
More interestingly, National Grid has simultaneously laid and buried cable. As a result, in one uninterrupted operation. All from the shore to the offshore substation by Visser Smit. Vattenfall also believes this is the first cable of that length and size.
With 8 of 30 turbines now deployed at the energy company’s pioneering offshore wind farm, the completion of export cable laying and connection works from the offshore substation to the Heysham onshore substation means that the generation of first power is only months away. Cable-laying between turbines and to the offshore substation continues.
Once the cables linking wind turbines to the substations are laid, engineers will work to enable the first turbines to receive power from the National Grid in a process known as ‘energisation.’ Energisation allows engineers to test internal systems in the wind turbines before being able to safely generate first power and export to the Grid.
More importantly, Vattenfall’s Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm is on schedule to deliver power. Power to the grid later and completing the 42km export cable.
The massive 42km long export cable is made of copper. That and heavily armored with steel wires and polyethylene to protect the copper. This massive cable weighs 3,500 tons. This weight is the same as eight fully loaded jumbo jets. Cause the protected copper transmits electricity. So it seems as if the electricity from the 30-turbine wind farm to the mainland. All to meet the equivalent electricity demand. The demand of over 100,000 homes annually.
Also, encased in the cable are 48 optical fibers. Thereby transmitting signals controlling the wind farm.
In conclusion and therefore, the Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm is currently being built in the Irish Sea. It’s 10km off Barrow-In-Furness. On completion the wind farm will comprise 30 REpower 5M wind turbines. Thereby combining the capacity of 150 megawatts (MW). Most noteworthy, all are expecting to produce around 500 gigawatt hours. That’s of electricity every year. This is equal to supply the equivalent electricity demand of more than 100,000 UK homes. Most interestingly and finally, the turbines cover an area of 8.7km2.
