Ørsted and Tekmar Tackle Array Cable Issue at Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm

Ørsted and the cable protection systems (CPS) manufacturer Tekmar are jointly trying to identify the root cause of the inter-array cable issue identified at the Race Bank wind farm offshore UK earlier this year.

As reported earlier, Ørsted flagged the issue in its Q1 2021 interim report, saying that apart from Race Bank, up to nine other offshore wind farms in the UK and Continental Europe could be affected, with the cost of remedial work and repairs potentially reaching up to DKK 3 billion (EUR 403 million) over the next three years.

The main issue noted by Ørsted relates to the abrasion of legacy CPSs caused by movement of the CPS over the rock-scour installed on the seabed.

During a conference call, Ørsted noted that the potential reason for the damage done to the CPSs was due to a change in cable installation methodology across the ten projects, where a second layer of rock was not used to stabilise the cable.

”We are in discussions with Ørsted relating to the protection of their installed array cables on one offshore wind farm project, namely Race Bank in the UK, and are supporting them to identify the root cause and remedial actions through standard operational engagement,” Ally MacDonald, CEO of Tekmar Group, said.

”The installation and maintenance of cables and cable protection systems in challenging subsea environments is complex and failure can be the result of many factors, including areas we are not involved in such as installation and scour protection. The technology solution continues to evolve as the industry matures to meet the changing requirements to support offshore wind projects, such that CPS abrasion is not expected to be an issue for future installations.”

MacDonald also added that at this stage Tekmar does not anticipate a material financial impact related to the ongoing discussions with Ørsted.

Shares in Tekmar were down 12.71 per cent as of 4 May, 9:36 AM GMT.