DeepOcean Secures Inter-Array Cable Contract for RWE’s Nordseecluster A Project

Ocean services provider DeepOcean has been awarded a contract for RWE’s Nordseecluster A offshore wind project in Germany, covering trenching, transport, and installation of inter-array cables.

RWE has recently made the final investment decision for its entire Nordseecluster, involving offshore wind projects with a total of 1.6 GW. Nordseecluster will be constructed in two phases, namely Nordseecluster A and Nordseecluster B.

The wind farms will be built in the German North Sea, about 50 kilometres north of the island of Juist.

In August 2023, RWE revealed that DeepOcean had been chosen as its preferred supplier of subsea installation services for Nordseecluster A.

DeepOcean has now been awarded a firm order that will include preparatory work, transport, and installations of all inter-array cables, including trenching, topside pull-ins, and terminations for the initial build-out phase.

In total, the company will install 185 kilometres of 66 kV aluminium and copper cables to connect all 44 Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbines of Nordseecluster A.

The Greek cable manufacturer Hellenic Cables was selected by RWE as the preferred supplier of the inter-array cables for the 1.6 GW Nordseecluster development.

DeepOcean’s scope of work also includes project management and engineering; offshore preparation work including pre-installation cable route survey, route engineering and burial assessment, boulder relocation, foundation preparatory work, and offshore substation preparatory work; transport and installation of inter-array cables including burial, pull-in, monitoring and testing; as well as seabed surveys and monitoring.

Project management will be based out of Aberdeen, with support functions provided across the company’s UK and Norway offices.

Offshore preparations and pre-installation surveys will commence in the second quarter of 2025, with the main works starting at the beginning of 2026. DeepOcean will utilise three vessels for the 600 MW offshore wind project.

At the end of last month, the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) issued the planning approvals for Nordseecluster A.

Offshore construction is scheduled to begin next year, with all wind turbines expected to be connected to the grid by the beginning of 2027.

The second phase, Nordseecluster B, will add a further 900 MW of capacity, with commercial operation expected to begin in early 2029.

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