Prysmian Beating the Clock on Wikinger Wire Job

Italy-based subsea cable maker Prysmian has completed the laying phase of the inter-array cables for Iberdrola’s 350MW Wikinger offshore wind farm ahead of schedule.

Termination and testing works are currently in progress, Prysmian said.

“This milestone, which is quite uncommon in the offshore wind market, highlights the Group’s capabilities in managing turnkey inter-array contracts and re-affirms the strong focus Prysmian has in the offshore wind market,” said Massimo Battaini SVP Energy Projects.

“We have been heavily investing in developing our project execution and cable installation capabilities. We can now count on new assets, such as our cable barge, Ulisse, for shallow water installation as well as new jetting and cable protection machines.”

Iberdrola Renovables Offshore Deutschland GmbH awarded Prysmian the EUR 60 million contract in February 2015 to supply and install the inter-array cables within the wind farm located in the German sector of the Baltic Sea. In September 2015, Prysmian chartered Global Marine Systems Limited’s cable-laying vessel, the C.S. Sovereign, to install Wikinger’s inter-array cables.

Prysmian is responsible for the design, manufacture, installation, burial, termination and testing of 80 kilometres of 33kV submarine cables with different cross-sections to connect the 70 Adwen 5MW wind turbines and the offshore substation at the site.

Work began in 2016, when cables were produced in Prysmian’s facility in Drammen, Norway.

The Wikinger wind farm is scheduled to be operational by the end of this year, with turbine installation currently underway.