First inter-array installation campaign completed at Neart na Gaoithe

Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Farm Limited (NnGOWL) has completed the cable layout for the first campaign of six inter-array cables and one interconnector between the two offshore substations (OSS) within the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm site in Scotland.

The works began on Wednesday, 12 April, and were completed on Sunday, 30 April.

A pre-lay grapnel run (PLGR) was done by BB Ocean using a grapnel towed from the vessel. The grapnel was deployed to detect and remove surface debris located on the inter-array cable routes and the wind turbine, offshore substation topside, and jack-up locations.

The installation of the inter-array cables was done by DEME’s newly acquired DP3 offshore installation vessel Viking Neptun.

The inter-array cables are connected to the substations in six loops (3 per OSS), whereas a single interconnector connects OSS-S to OSS-N.

The cables were pulled in at the jackets and/or substations and will be left unburied on the seabed until the commencement of future campaigns which are planned between July and November.

The Walk-to-Work vessel, Horizon Enabler, supported these operations and the MCS Kaver was the crew transfer vessel support.

Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm is being built by EDF Renewables and ESB, some 15 kilometres off the coast of Fife in Scotland.

The 450 MW offshore wind farm will comprise 54 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW wind turbines, with the first units planned to be operational in mid-2023.

The export cables for the project were hooked up onto the wind farm’s two OSS jacket foundations in September last year.

Once fully operational, the offshore wind farm will supply enough electricity for around 375,000 homes and offset over 400,000 tonnes of Co2 emissions each year.