UK: Beach Works Begin for Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm

Yesterday, a project team has began excavating small sections of the beach to help prepare for the installation of subsea cabling, which is being brought ashore at Pensarn, North Wales.

The trials will be carried out by contractor Global Marine Systems Limited, on behalf of Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm Limited, and will help identify the best procedures and equipment required, to successful install the cabling.

Four subsea export cables will transport power from the wind farm, via two offshore substations, to a transition pit behind the beach at Pensarn. This will connect the offshore to the onshore cable and ultimately via underground cabling to the new substation, being built 11kms away at St Asaph Business Park.

RWE npower renewables’ Gwynt y Môr Project Director, Toby Edmonds said: “These trials are very important to establish the exact procedure for the export cable to be brought ashore at Pensarn later in the spring and early summer.

“A small section of the beach will be fenced off to members of the public during the trials and access along the coastal footpath will remain open at all times.

“The work will take place during daylight hours with exact timings determined by the tide.

“Appropriate consents have been received from the Marine Consents Unit and Conwy County Borough Council for this work to take place.

“Works are expected to be complete by 17th March when the equipment will leave site and the beach will be returned to its original state.”

At 576MW, Gwynt y Môr is one of the largest offshore wind farms currently in construction in Europe. It is a shared investment between partners RWE Innogy, Stadtwerke München GmbH and Siemens. Once fully operational, energy generation from Gwynt y Môr is expected to be equivalent to the average annual needs of around 400,000 homes.

UK based, Global Marine Systems Limited, won a multi-million pound contract to install offshore export cables for Gwynt y Môr.

It will use the trials to excavate small sections of the beach to determine settlement levels once the cables are laid and the correct type of anchor for securing the installation barge, Cable Enterprise.

Cable Enterprise will be visible along the coast, at times coming very close to the beach in order to bury the cables.

Four 132kV export cables will be brought ashore at intervals between mid May and July.

Offshore construction activity for Gwynt y Môr began in Liverpool Bay in January 2012, with preparations to the seabed, known as scour protection.

RWE npower renewables has set up a project information line which people can call if they have a query about the construction of Gwynt y Môr.

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Offshore WIND staff, March 13, 2012; Image: rwe