Power Cable Installation & Maintenance

With substantial experience on Power Cable projects of all sizes, ETA can provide support on all aspects of power cable installation and maintenance, offering services from total project management, to 'one-off' consultancy assignments, design work, planning, and technical studies.

ETA personnel have been involved in projects all across the world from the UK-France Interconnector to inter-platform cabling in the Niger delta.

In the power market, product cost, handling criteria, dimensions and weight strongly influence the economics of route selection, installation and planning. Similarly, the economics and repair timescales of power interconnectors demand a high level of system security.

As such ETA’s engineering capabilities find application ensuring correct selection of route and installation tools to achieve optimum burial and protection. Our understanding of system options and costs enables us to guide the development of cost-effective solutions.

Alongside experience in the power market, ETA’s expertise has been acquired from their background in the installation and maintenance of subsea cable in the traditional fields of telecom, or offshore oil and gas projects as well as from their extensive involvement with offshore renewables.

This breadth of expertise has been gained through the management of complex subsea cable projects combined with practical ‘hands on’ installation experience all of which is supported by a strong engineering team using up to date cable planning and modelling tools.

For more information on ETA’s products and services give us a call on:

Power Cable Clients and Project Examples

The East West
Interconnector Project

The East West Interconnector Project (EWIP) is a 185km HVDC submarine cable link from Ireland to the UK. The cable was successfully installed with 100% burial in 3 campaigns, utilising a shallow draft barge with an injector for burial at landfalls, and chain cutter and water jetting ROV for the main sections of the cable. Horizontal Directional Drilling was also used on the UK side with direct buried ducts trenched into rock in Ireland.

Working for EPC contractors ABB, ETA provided Project Management and Engineering Support across the whole project providing: route planning based on the hi-res pre-lay survey; installation planning; specs for tenders; tender appraisal for 9 sub-contracts; managing day to day installation including QHSE; commercial disputes etc; face to face meetings with clients to resolve technical and commercial issues; and contract variations etc. ETA also supplied Client Representatives for the project.

BorWin1:
Power Cable Installation

BorWin1 also known as Nord.EON, is a 125km HVDC cable linking the Borkum Wind Park Cluster to the German national grid.

The project was the first installation of a DC cable link between an offshore Wind Park and the grid.

ETA provided the Deputy Installation Manager for the project; offering extensive Project Management support including specifications for tender, management of the tendering process, sub-contractor management, and client coordination.

ETA’s earlier engineering work on the Team Oman during the BritNed project proved instrumental in the success of the project.

BritNed
Interconnector Project

The BritNed Interconnector is a 260km HVDC submarine cable link between the Isle of Grain in Kent and Maasvlakte in Rotterdam. The link itself is comprised of two bundled HVDC cables, and has a capacity of 1000MW. Britned was successfully installed on time and in budget.

Working through the lead installation contractor, Global Marine Systems, ETA provided a range of design and engineering services to the project including: installation analysis for both the main cable lay and shore landings;

NorNed Interconnector:
Jointing and Repair

NorNed Interconnector is a 580-kilometre long HVDC submarine power cable between Feda in Norway and the seaport of Eemshaven in the Netherlands, which links both countries' electricity grids. It is the longest submarine power cable in the world.

ETA were contracted by Bohlen and Doyen to develop procedures and a detailed design for installing a joint in the dual core FMI Cable Section from the C/S Skagerrak. In addition this procedure was to be applicable for a general 50m repair.