Jee to Carry Out EA1 Array Cable Layout Optimisation Study

ScottishPower Renewables has hired Jee to carry out an array cable optimisation study for the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm. 

ScottishPower Renewables wants to optimise the wind farm array cable layout, focusing on minimising CAPEX and OPEX. The study will aim to minimise potential loss of revenue should one cable fail, by investigating the effect of different route configurations. The interaction with the seabed is also a major consideration due to the presence of sandwaves. The cost-benefits of adding cable redundancy to the system to minimise downtime will be investigated, Jee explained.

Martyn Campbell, Senior Engineer at Jee said: “We are delighted to be working with Scottish Power Renewables on this project and are looking forward to investigating the interesting environmental challenges presented by the project’s geographical location. Recent seabed surveys have indicated the presence of wrecks, and therefore potential war graves, and areas of metallic debris, thought to be potentially unexploded ordinance (UXO). When planning the route we will need to take care in avoiding these obstacles and will also need to avoid disturbing the protected natural reefs of Sabellaria (a marine worm).”

As part of the study, Jee will also determine the size of cable needed for the various sections of the route. The size of the cable will depend on the power load through it and therefore larger cores will be required nearer the substation. A loop configuration may help to reduce the number of individual sections of larger diameter cable, but the lengths of the cable may increase as a result, the company said.