Belgium-based offshore installation firm Jan De Nul has won a contract to install 130 miles of inter-array cables for the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind project in the U.S. The cables will be delivered by UK-based JDR Cable Systems, part of the TFKable Group.
To be installed at what has been described as the U.S. first major offshore wind farm, the 66kV inter-array cables connecting 62 GE Haliade-X turbines will transfer electricity to an offshore substation for transmission to the grid.
Vineyard Wind 1 is an 800 MW project located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and will be the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the United States. The project will generate electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The inter-array cable procurement and installation contract was awarded by Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc., and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).
40 new jobs in Massachusetts
Part of the contract calls for installation support and subsea training for individuals with an electrical background, creating approximately 40 new full-time jobs in Massachusetts to ensure skilled labor is available locally to support the project and its ongoing maintenance, as well as the US offshore wind industry, Vineyard Wind said.
"Our partnership with Jan De Nul Group and JDR is great news for the project because it ensures that we’re working with a leading global installation company and supplier while also creating jobs here in the US,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Lars Pedersen. “Combined with the recent signing of the Project Labor Agreement, we hope this latest step sends a clear message on the tremendous opportunity this industry holds for both job creation and investment.”
“We are excited to be at the forefront of the emerging offshore renewables market in the US,” said Wouter Vermeersch, Manager Offshore Cables at Jan De Nul Group. “In 2020, we successfully completed the foundation and turbine installation on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project and we are looking forward to capitalizing on the knowledge gained and the experience of working on the East Coast with this new challenge. Together with Vineyard Wind and our subcontractor JDR Cable Systems, we will support the local supply chain within the Massachusetts region to deliver the required offshore support vessels and skilled personnel up to the high standards required for safe and efficient offshore wind farm construction.”