JDR Lands Dudgeon OWF Cabling Deal

JDR has won a new contract with VBMS for the Statoil/Statkraft Dudgeon offshore wind farm.

Dudgeon, off the UK’s Norfolk coast will utilise over 95 kilometres of JDR’s copper core inter-array cable and a range of cable accessories. The design and manufacture will take place at JDR’s UK bases in Cambridgeshire and Hartlepool.

The Dudgeon offshore wind farm is located 32 kilometres off the UK coast in North Norfolk at water depths of between 18 and 25 metres. With 67 x 6MW wind turbines, the farm is expected to create enough electricity to power more than 410,000 homes each year. JDR’s inter-array cables will collect and transmit the generated power, prior to its export to mainland UK. Construction is expected to start in 2015.

The Dudgeon inter-array cables will be designed by JDR’s in-house engineering team and manufactured at JDR’s Hartlepool facility. The facility is alongside a deepwater dock that is ideally positioned for manufacture and loading out for European wind farm projects. The project will utilise two JDR designed inter-array cables; a 185mm2 copper conductor cable and a 500mm2 copper conductor cable. Both cables will be supplied in two continuous lengths, be XLPE insulated and type tested to IEC 60502-2 and CIGRE standards.

To complete the package, JDR will supply a range of accessories including pulling grips, hang-offs, connectors, fibre optic patch panels, cable cleats, three-month abandonment kits and subsea repair joints.

UK Government Business Minister, Matthew Hancock, said: “I am delighted this contract has been awarded to JDR Cables, one of the UK’s premier offshore wind suppliers, demonstrating their success in a very competitive market. As part of our long-term economic plan we are working with the offshore wind industry to bolster a thriving manufacturing industry here in the UK, ensuring more energy jobs comes to our shores. This government backs business every step of the way and we are making it easier for them to start, succeed and grow.”

Andrew Norman, JDR’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The UK has led the global market for offshore wind developments. JDR has been involved right from the start with our work on the London Array and Greater Gabbard projects. We are now delighted to have been selected as inter-array cable partner for Dudgeon.”