MacArtney Winches Borkum Riffgrund 2 Contract

MacArtney has won a contract for the supply of two 150 kN and 200 kN electrical cable pulling winches for operation on the Borkum Riffgrund 2 offshore wind farm.

MacArtney will provide Fulgor/Hellenic Cables with the two winches to bring inter array cables and export cables from the seabed onto the substation deck.

The power cables are to be pulled through a number of J-tubes onto the substation for connection. The 200 kN winch is a stationary winch for pulling export cables, and the 150 kN winch rotates 360 degrees, enabling a straight pull to all J-tubes.

The winches come with additional equipment consisting of a DNV approved password-secured ‘capacity reduction mode’, which is said to enable cable installers to use smaller sheave blocks to install the inter array cables. In addition, the supply includes an integrated data logger with an extra large 15.4 inch HMI, and 360 degrees rotation for optimised operation, which reduces the costs of reversible units and sheave blocks, MacArtney said.

The MacArtney cable-pulling winch systems serve to help the substations stabilize and maximize the voltage of power generated offshore, reduce potential electrical losses, transmit electricity to shore, and do so in a manner that supplies the greatest return on investment, the company said.

The 450MW Borkum Riffgrund 2 is located approximately 57km off the north-west coast of Germany, next to the 312MW Borkum Riffgrund 1 offshore wind farm.

The wind farm will consist of 56 MHI Vestas 8MW turbines and is expected to be fully commissioned in 2019.

Ørsted, the owner and developer of the wind farm, has entered into an agreement to sell 50% of Borkum Riffgrund 2 to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for a total consideration of approximately EUR 1.17 billion. The transaction is subject to approval by the competition authorities and is expected to be completed before the end of 2017.