SEA Deploys New Connection Tech at Biscay Marine Energy Park

SEA, a Cohort subsidiary, has installed a 13.2kV cable connection for the Oceantec wave energy device located at the Biscay Marine Energy Park (Bimep) test site in Northern Spain.

Bimep tests prototype devices for generating wave energy in advance of commercial production to ensure economic and technological readiness and that they are reliable and safe for commercial deployment.

A team of engineers and technicians from SEA subsea engineering division terminated the device cable connection onshore and travelled offshore to connect the two halves at the wave site. The device is now fully operational and generating wave power back to shore.

The Bimep connections are a new variant of the nine 33kV connections first installed by SEA in 2009 at the Orkney-based European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) test centre for marine renewable energy.

SEA managing director, Steve Hill, said: “The power connection technology developed by SEA is readily transferrable from Oil and Gas into Marine Renewables and we are proud to have led the way on this work in Scotland and internationally.”