Burbo Bank, UK

The Burbo Bank offshore wind farm is situated on the Burbo Flats in Liverpool Bay in the UK. It receives the full force of the wind from the Irish Sea in the west, making it an ideal location for offshore wind power generation.

The Burbo Bank offshore wind farm extension project consists of 32 additional wind turbines. The project covers an area of 40 square kilometers and has an estimated generating capacity of up to 258 MW (megawatts), which is enough electricity to meet the needs of approximately 230,000 households.

The extension project is located west of the original Burbo Banks offshore wind farm and is 7 km north of the North Wirral coast, 8.5 km from Crosby beach and around 12 km from the Point of Ayr on the Welsh coast.

It was the leading wind power development company Ørsted that requested a high-voltage export cable system. The system transmitting power from the extension project is part of a strategy to integrate more wind power and support renewable energy targets in UK.

The scope of the project included design, engineering, supply and commissioning of the 24 km long 220 kV (kilovolt) AC (alternating current) submarine cable and the related offshore substation cable. On land, it comprised of 30 km of AC underground cables and the associated substation cables as well as the cable joints, accessories and terminations related to the project.

The project was executed according to plan and the complete scope was delivered on time including production, load out and jointing of the cables, despite the severe adverse weather conditions faced during the installation phase. The cable laying and civil works were carried out by another contractor with whom interface meetings were held. Our knowledge and experience with both cable and installation were a significant contributor to the success of the project.

Health and safety was of paramount importance throughout the project. This was clearly an area of very high focus, and by having a proactive approach together with the customer, there were no reported accidents or injuries that resulted in any lost time from work.

Finally, the cable system passed the site acceptance test – with excellent results and on time. After this successful cooperation, we received further orders from Ørsted showing that our customer is satisfied with the high quality of our efforts.