Global Offshore to Wire Kincardine Floating Wind Farm

Global Offshore, part of the Global Marine Group, has secured a contract with Spain’s Grupo Cobra for cable installation and burial at the Kincardine floating wind farm offshore Scotland.

Utilising specialist cable installation vessel the Normand Clipper, the latest addition to its fleet, Global Offshore will install one export and five inter-array cables at the site, totalling 30.3 kilometres.

The project will commence in the spring with boulder clearance and route preparation work utilising a pre-lay plough.

Installation works will include the use of a dynamic riser to allow for movement of the platform, an engineering solution unique to this emerging floating sub-sector of offshore wind, the company said.

Following the cable installation, remedial burial will be completed on parts of the route by a jet trencher to ensure the long term safety of the cable.

Located 15 kilometres off the coast, south of Aberdeen, the 50MW Kincardine floating wind farm will comprise one 2MW and five 9.6MW MHI Vestas floating wind turbines. The 2MW unit has been operating offshore Aberdeen since October 2018. Global Offshore installed the export power cable that connects the 2MW turbine to the Scottish grid.

“We’re pleased to be working with Grupo Cobra on this project, located just on the doorstep of our Head Office in Aberdeen,” Mike Daniel, Managing Director of Global Offshore, said.

”We are taking our extensive experience in installing dynamic umbilicals and flexibles in offshore oil and gas, and applying it to cable installation in the emerging floating wind farm sector, a growth area of offshore renewables.”

The wind farm is scheduled to be completed in 2020.