U.K.-based manufacturer Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd (SMD) said it handed over a purpose-built pre-lay plow to marine service providers Boskalis, for use at Ørsted’s offshore wind farm Hornsea Two.
The multifunctional pre-lay plow will be used to install 380 kilometers of export cables which will ultimately connect Hornsea Two’s offshore substation to the site’s onshore substation in Killingholme, Lincolnshire.
Once complete, Hornsea Two will host an array of 165 wind turbines, each standing over 190 meters above sea level. The wind farm will be the world’s largest, generating 1.4 gigawatts.
The pre-lay plow, named Megalodon by Boskalis, was manufactured on the north bank of the Tyne by SMD, and is equipped with features such as an active steering, multi modes, specialized share designand remote-control access.
Paul Davison, Managing Director of SMD, said, “This is our third pre-lay plow delivered to date. Together with the Boskalis Innovation team, we have developed innovations for this plow which reduce seabed impact and reduce vessel fuel consumption whilst burying to protect the crucial offshore wind infrastructure that is the export cable.”
The Megalodon can operate in water at a depth of up to 500 meters and will be used in collaboration with Boskalis’ offshore support vessel BOKA Falcon. With offshore works due to commence in May for Hornsea Two’s offshore construction, Boskalis is working alongside Ørsted to complete cable-laying campaigns for 2020 within six months.
Expected to be complete in 2022, Hornsea Two’s wind farm array is dispersed across an area of 462 square kilometers, which is equivalent to a larger surface area than the island of Barbados.