The 1.1 GW Inch Cape offshore wind project in Scotland has completed installation of its second 85-km offshore export cable, with the two-cable system set to be energized in the coming weeks ahead of first power towards the end of 2026.
The second 220 kV three-phase cable was installed in three 28-km sections by Enshore Subsea using the cable-laying vessel CMOS Installer, operating from the Port of Blyth.
Two offshore joints were completed by specialists aboard Normand Cutter, while the cable was buried using Enshore's ENS1100 hybrid trenching vehicle. Some final rock placement remains to be completed.
Together, the two parallel export cables will carry electricity from Inch Cape's offshore substation to its new onshore substation at Cockenzie, East Lothian, and then into the national grid.
A total of 170 km of export cable has now been installed. The 2,000-square-millimetre cable, manufactured by Ningbo Orient Wires & Cables, weighs almost 140 tonnes per kilometre.
“The completion of this crucial link between the offshore and onshore substations is another major achievement for the project and testament to the excellent collaboration between the Inch Cape team and our contractors, particularly Orient Cable and Enshore Subsea. The successful finalisation of this scope builds on our solid progress as we now enter the next phases of offshore construction,” said John Hill, Inch Cape Project Director.
The project recently completed installation of its monopiles and transition pieces. Current offshore work includes array cable installation by the newbuild vessel Altera and jacket foundation pin-pile installation by Alfa Lift.
Components for Inch Cape's 15 MW wind turbines are also being delivered to the Port of Dundee ahead of tower assembly and offshore installation.
The wind farm, owned equally by ESB and Red Rock Renewables, remains on track for full commercial operations in 2027 and is expected to generate almost 5 TWh of electricity annually.
Subscribe
