Reducing in offshore cable installation times

Paul Boughton

In a bid to cut the time and considerable cost of offshore wind farm deployment, subsea connector specialist, First Subsea, is launching a new monopile interface connector for offshore wind monopiles, and top tension connector for floating wind turbines.

The most labour intensive and time-consuming element of cable installation into an offshore wind monopile is its connection and termination. First Subsea has streamlined the process with its combination of monopile interface connector (MIC) and hang off cable connector (HOC). The MIC secures the cable’s monopile connection while the HOC holds the pre-terminated cable in position on the hang-off deck ready for connection.

First Subsea has also developed of a top tension connector for the deployment of wind farms further offshore at water depths in excess of 80m, where monopiles are considered impractical.

The top tension connector will allow the installation contractor to moor and tension a floating turbine’s mooring lines without the need for specialist tensioning equipment, and surface vessels requiring significant capex, that currently restricts the commercialisation of floating offshore wind farms. It uses a simple push and grip technology to connect mooring lines to a range of floating wind turbine platforms including tension leg platform, spar and semi-submersible.