Global Marine to install export cable at 576MW offshore wind farm

Global Marine Systems Energy (GME) will install the first of the four export cables at the 576MW Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm in Liverpool Bay, about 18km off the North Wales coast, UK.

The €2bn Gwynt y Môr wind farm which is being built by RWE npower renewables consists of 160 turbines each with a generating capacity of 3.6MW and is expected to produce enough electricity to meet the power needs of about 400,000 homes.

GME will use its vessel, Cable Enterprise, to install all the four 132kV export cables each with a length between 18km to 22km at the project site.

RWE npower renewables Gwynt y Môr project director Toby Edmonds said the company has landed the first export cable on the beach at Pensarn.

"We are looking forward to working closely with Global Marine Energy in the coming weeks to complete the installation of these crucial cables," Edmonds said.

GME Projects director Kevin O’Donnell said Cable Enterprise is a new vessel in the company’s fleet.

"The vessel is designed specifically for export cable installation and the challenging environments they bring," O’Donnell said.

"We are happy to see her and the team get the project off to a strong start."

Cable Enterprise vessel will lay the export cables from onshore to two offshore substations on the wind farm.

The total investment in the project has been shared between RWE Innogy, RWE npower renewables’ parent company, Stadtwerke München, and Siemens, each contributing 60%, 30% and 10%.