Pfisterer selected to supply grid connection technologies for the new Moray East Offshore Windfarm, set to provide green power for up to one million UK households.
In cooperation with the cable manufacturer Tele-fonika Kable and the international cable and pipeline installation contractor VolkerInfra, Pfisterer has been awarded the contract for the supply of the 220 kV land cable accessories for the grid connection of the new Moray East Offshore Windfarm.
Moray East is a large-scale wind farm project which was granted consent in 2014 by the Scottish Government and will deliver green power for up to one million UK households early in the next decade.
The wind farm is being constructed 22km off the coast in Moray Firth, Scotland, covering an area of 295km2. In 2017 it won a 950MW contract for difference at competitive auction which set the price of power generated at £57.50 per MWhr.
The electricity will be generated by 100 Vestas wind turbines, which are connected via several converter stations to a 66kV array network. The voltage level will be boosted up to 220kV for transmission back to shore via the export cables.
The Moray Offshore Windfarm (East) Limited consortium is currently owned by EDPR (43.3%), Diamond Green Limited which is partly owned by DGE (33.4%) and ENGIE (23.3%).
Individual elements become a system solution
Pfisterer will supply the 220 kV CONNEX pluggable cable connections for the offshore substation. The CONNEX system consists of a 100% dry termination which pairs with an epoxy socket.
From the transition joint bays, the Pfisterer MSA one-piece slip on joints will be used along with the corresponding link boxes for the entire 34km cable route. Arriving at the New Deer onshore substation, Pfisterer’s Outdoor Sealing Ends (ESS terminations) will be used to connect to the overhead bus bar.
“Moray East is an exciting project for us. Many of our products are integrated and in conjunction with the services of our partners they are combined to form a high-quality system solution on the power transmission chain from the offshore substation to the overhead lines on land.”
“Technologies from our plants in Germany and Switzerland are used and many colleagues of the PTS Cable division are involved. We look forward to an effective cooperation with Tele-fonkia Kable and VolkerInfra on such a key project,”” said Karl McFadden, project manager of Pfisterer UK.
Choice with vision
For the Moray Offshore Windfarm (East), the choice fell again on the CONNEX universal connection system, an offshore solution that has been tried and tested for more than 20 years. It is solidly-insulated, pluggable, touch-proof, resistant to salt water and UV radiation, as well as submersible and maintenance-free.
CONNEX is certified for offshore applications by the classification company DNV GL and due to its design, is extremely flexible and time-saving during installation. With the CONNEX family, Pfisterer offers a complete range of products for all voltage levels from 12kV to 550kV.
In this way, the entire cabling within a wind farm can be carried out using the same proven technology. The cable joints are of type IXOSIL MSA245 and thanks to their one-piece design, the joints are extremely compact in size. The space required in a joint bay is therefore reduced to a minimum.
“Our customers choose VolkerInfra as their partner of choice because we offer best in class solutions for Extra High Voltage underground cable systems. As world leaders in their field, we selected Pfisterer as our partner of choice for the supply of the 220 kV accessories. We look forward to working with the Pfisterer team as the scheme develops,” said Peter Cooke, technical development director, VolkerInfra.