Work has started on a UK offshore wind farm which will be the first to use 66kV cables and the first in the UK to use gravity based foundations.
Onshore construction work has started on the project, EDF Energy Renewables' Blyth wind farm, off northeast England. Offshore construction work will start in 2017 to install the first five latest generation Vestas turbines with a total 41.5MW capacity.
The project has permission for a maximum total generating capacity of almost 100 MW.
VMBS, which specializes in subsea power cable installation, will install some 14km of the 66kV cables. Up to now, the standard voltage for cables has been 33Kv, but with turbines growing in power a higher specification has been developed.
The concrete gravity base foundations are the first of their kind to be built in the world, says EDF, and will be installed using a float and sink method not used on wind farms before.
The foundations will be designed and built by Royal BAM Group in the Neptune dry dock on the Tyne and will then be floated and sunk in position using tugs.