- Nexans has won a contract worth over 150 million euros to help Ørsted deliver the most affordable electricity from offshore wind yet.
- The project covers the supply of over 200 km of the 245 kV high voltage alternating current (HVAC) subsea export cable system for the near shore section of Hornsea 2 wind farm.
Today, many nations are harnessing renewable energy sources with the aim of counteracting climate change, one of the world’s biggest challenges. In 2017, Europe installed 16.8 GW of additional wind power capacity making it the second largest form of power generation in the region. One of the latest most prominent wind power developments is Ørsted’s Hornsea 2 project, for which Nexans has been awarded a contract worth over 150 million euros to supply over 200 km of 245 kV cross-linked polyethylene insulated (XLPE) near shore export cable system.
Located in the North Sea, approximately 89 km from the Yorkshire coast, the 1.4 GW offshore wind farm will be the world’s largest once it starts operating. The wind farm, which is the sister project to Hornsea 1, will provide enough electricity to power over 1.3 million homes. Ørsted is now constructing the project, with completion set for 2022.
To bring the electricity produced by the windfarm onshore, the project will be equipped with Nexans three-core HVAC submarine cables. These 245 kV XLPE cables will be part of the near shore section of the export circuits linking the wind farm’s reactive power substation to the onshore substation. The circuits will comprise three individual near shore export cables and will follow a similar route to Hornsea 1, for which Nexans Germany has earlier supplied 139 km of three-phase 36 kV subsea cable inter-linking a total of 58 wind turbines and connecting them to the offshore transformer station. The route will make landfall at Horseshoe Point from where land cables will feed the power to North Killingholme onshore substation.
For the last decades, Nexans has been a key actor in the offshore wind market, known for its technical leadership in providing turnkey cabling solutions for new generations of offshore wind farms. Building on our expertise and long-standing partnership with Ørsted, we are delighted to contribute to the construction of the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
Senior Executive VP Subsea and Land Systems business group, Nexans
These cables for Hornsea 2 project will be manufactured at Nexans Norway site in Halden.
From Left to right : Anders Chabert Hylleberg, Ørsted Procurement director, Patrick Harnett, Ørsted Senior project director Hornsea 2, Duncan Clark, Ørsted Program director Hornsea 2, Domenico Gerace, Nexans Director marketing & sales, Vincent Dessale, Nexans Senior Executive VP Subsea and Land Systems Business Group, Morten Langnes, Nexans Sales manager, Jordi Font, Ørsted Senior project manager, Luke Bridgman, Ørsted Deputy EPC director, Søren Hindbo, Ørsted Senior director, Lotuf Shah, Ørsted Lead project HSE manager
From Left to right : Luke Bridgman, Deputy EPC director, Patrick Harnett, Ørsted Senior project director Hornsea 2, Duncan Clark, Ørsted Program director Hornsea 2, Vincent Dessale, Nexans Nexans Senior Executive VP Subsea and Land Systems Business Group
The Netherlands is planning to increase its use of renewable energy to represent 14% of its energy mix in 2020 and 16% in 2023. Offshore wind energy is a vital element in this transition and a major milestone will be reached in 2020 when Ørsted brings its Borssele 1 and 2 wind farms online. Nexans is playing a key role in the project by supplying a total length of between 170 km and 190 km of subsea cable rated at a maximum operating voltage of 72.5 kilovolt (kV) to provide the inter-array connections between the turbines and the offshore substations in the framework of a multimillion-euro contract.
Borssele 1 and 2 are located around 23 km off the Dutch coast in 14 to 36 meters of water. Together, the two wind farms will have a total of 94 wind turbines generating 752 megawatt (MW) of power, which is enough electricity to meet the needs of around one million domestic households.
As part of a new five-year framework agreement, Nexans has been awarded a contract by Ørsted to supply and install three-phase 66 kV copper cables with two cross-sections. They will be used for internal cabling of the wind farms: the array cables connect the wind turbines to each other and to the transformer stations where the electricity is transported to the mainland.
In addition to the inter-array cables, Nexans is also providing the relevant fittings and accessories for the project, including T-connectors for the 66 kV cables designed for wind farm application with a standardised, robust and easy plug and screw solution.
The Borssele wind farms will be the first time that Ørsted has used Nexans new 66 kV cables for its offshore wind farms. Operating at this increased voltage will result in lower losses than using array cabling at the normal 33 kV and 36 kV voltage level. Nexans is proud to be the world’s only supplier that is currently able to equip this new generation of wind parks with a complete in-house portfolio of state-of-the-art cables and standardised connection solutions suitable for a maximum operating voltage of 72.5 kV.
Senior Executive VP Subsea and Land Systems Business Group, Nexans
Nexans has previously supplied Ørsted (formerly Dong Energy) with submarine cables for a number of offshore wind farms. Furthermore, Nexans’ portfolio of cutting-edge accessories is already connecting the three of the world’s first 66 kV wind farm pilot projects commissioned in the North Sea over the past two years.
The array cables for Borssele 1 and 2 will be produced at the Nexans Germany plant in Hanover for delivery in 2019. After they have been laid in place on the seabed, Nexans Subsea and Land Systems will complete connection to the turbine bases using in-house jointing expertise in 2020. The cable accessories will be supplied by Nexans Euromold facility based in Erembodegem, Belgium.