UK: Guidance for Submarine Cables Proximity to Offshore Wind Farms Issued

The guidance provides a framework for collaborative working between the industries for mutual benefit, particularly in response to significant increases in offshore wind development activity.

The publication represents the culmination of 18 months’ technical work between a group including Subsea Cables UK, RenewableUK, Renewable Energy Association, wind farm developers and The Crown Estate.

Ian Selby, Head of Minerals and Infrastructure said: “We welcome the collaboration between the submarine cable and offshore wind industries and are clear that this approach will realise major benefits for both industries by helping to avoid potential operational conflicts in the UK’s marine environment.”

Key recommendations made include the need for early inter-company discussions where planned projects are within a distance of one nautical mile of each other.

In addition, ‘The Proximity of Offshore Renewable Energy Installations & Submarine Cable Infrastructure in UK Waters’ guideline, sets out generic advice on what should be considered when identifying the location of wind farm turbines and associated infrastructure and submarine cables are in close proximity.

The guideline recommends that consultation between projects/developers is essential and the principles of the guidance should apply to establish a mutually acceptable proximity agreement based on a site-specific, risk-based approach. An indicative proximity spacing of 750m can be used as a starting point for discussion.

Recognising the importance of the issue to the effective construction of its renewable energy programme and continued success of its cables business, the Crown Estate commissioned a desktop study in support of the guidance development: ‘Submarine Cables and Offshore Renewable Energy Installations Proximity Study’.

This provides an evidential basis for the spatial interaction between the two industries. It reviewed relevant legislation, reports and guidelines, made assessment of historic cross-industry conflicts or constraints, and from this an assessment of interactions was made and associated risks identified, all of which have been carefully considered in preparing the guidance.

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Offshore WIND staff, August 30, 2012; Image: TenneT