EDS HV Secures EOWDC O&M Contract

High voltage engineering specialist EDS HV Group (EDS) has been awarded a three-year operations and maintenance contract for Vattenfall’s Blackdog Substation at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) in Scotland.

The scope of the contract will see EDS, part of James Fisher and Sons plc, provide substation management services, including inspections and maintenance of the primary electrical assets and secondary auxiliary systems at Blackdog 132kV/66kV Substation.

Ryan Murphy, Head of Operations at EDS, said: “This contract award builds upon an already excellent relationship that EDS has with Vattenfall and we look forward to continuing to provide the service levels that they have come to expect. We have recently re-organised the Operations and Maintenance department and recruited an additional 3 staff to provide even greater efficiency for our clients. The award of this contract has most certainly contributed to our continued growth. ”

Located off Aberdeen Bay, EOWDC has nine 8.4MW and two 8.8MW MHI Vestas turbines installed on suction bucket jacket foundations with a total generating capacity of 93.2MW. It is also one of the first offshore wind farms in the world which features an offshore 66kV high voltage network.

Kevin Jones, Head of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre said:
“We are pleased to be awarding this contract to a UK company. The development of the supply chain is a crucial factor in the UK’s renewable success story and the result of co-ordinated action by the offshore wind sector. Vattenfall remains committed to playing its part in delivering the ambition of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal.”

EDS was also involved in cable termination and testing work at the wind farm during the construction.