Cable at Belgian offshore wind farm fixed four months after failing

The repairs on the cable linking the 309 MW Rentel offshore wind farm to mainland Belgium have been completed about four months after it failed.

The fault was located just below the Rentel transformer platform, said the Belgian transmission system operator (TSO) Elia.

A new section of the cable, approximately 400 meters long, was attached to the platform and connected to the existing cable under the seabed.

The four connected wind farms (Rentel, Northwester 2, and Mermaid and Seastar) were still able to generate electricity throughout the repair work because they are part of the meshed offshore high-voltage grid, via Elia’s MOG or offshore power hub. In September 2019, Elia inaugurated its Modular Offshore Grid (MOG).

According to the TSO, the wind farms’ electricity output was capped slightly during periods of high winds to prevent the operational export cables from being overloaded. Despite this, another offshore and onshore wind energy production record was broken in the first few months of the year, said Elia.

The repair work was technically complex and challenging due to the location of the fault, whose cause is still being investigated, and the weather conditions, according to Elia.

The Rentel offshore wind farm features 42 Siemens wind turbines, each with a capacity of 7.35 MW, which have been operational and producing green energy since 2018.