ABB wins cable system order for one of the world’s biggest wind farms

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order worth around $130 million from DONG Energy, the Danish integrated energy company, to supply a high-voltage cable system that will bring power from the Walney Extension wind park off the northwest coast of England to more than a million people in the United Kingdom.

The Walney Extension will provide additional generation potential of 660 MW on top of the existing offshore wind farm’s 367 MW. When completed, both offshore wind farms will be capable of providing clean electricity to over 800,000 households, making a significant contribution to the UK’s target of achieving 15 percent of its total energy production from renewable sources by 2020 and reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

“The Walney Extension cable link will help deliver clean renewable power to more than a million people,” said Claudio Facchin, president of ABB’s Power Systems division. "This project reaffirms ABB’s commitment to delivering power and productivity for a better world and reinforces our position as a leading provider of innovative high-voltage cable technology."

Europe now has around 8 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power connected to the grid. UK is the leading contributor, accounting for nearly half the installed capacity and a further 11.9 GW of offshore capacity under construction or having planning approval.

The existing Walney offshore wind farm is located 15 kilometers west of Walney Island off the coast of Cumbria in the Irish Sea, with its turbines covering an area of approximately 73 square kilometers. The Walney Extension Wind Farm site where ABB is supplying the high-voltage cable system is northwest of the existing installation and will cover an area twice as large at 149 square kilometers.

ABB will design, manufacture, supply and commission the 220 kilovolt (kV) alternating current (AC) extruded cable system. The link includes more than 157 kilometers of submarine cable to connect the two wind farm platforms to each other and to shore, as well as 24 kilometers of underground cable for the grid connection.

Cable links play a key role in transmitting vast amounts of electricity reliably and efficiently, often over long distances. With experience dating back to 1883, ABB is a global leader in high-voltage cable systems with an installed base across applications such as integration of renewables, city center infeeds, oil and gas platform power supplies and subsea interconnections. ABB has commissioned more than 25 direct-current (DC) and hundreds of AC cable links around the world.