Synaptec has introduced Greenlight, a monitoring system developed to provide early warnings of faults in cable networks before they result in failure. Greenlight enables automated, continuous monitoring of all joints and terminations across a cable network. It is designed to replace manual inspections and reactive maintenance with a more efficient and predictive method suited to offshore wind farms and high-voltage electricity transmission systems.
The system is built around Synaptec’s Distributed Electrical Sensing (DES) technology, which relies on passive sensors. These sensors require no power supply, data networks or maintenance, and can be retrofitted or embedded in cable joints and terminations at multiple points up to 60 km from a substation.
Each sensor transmits light via standard optical fibre to a central unit located at the substation. Data from the sensors is processed by Synaptec’s analytics platform, Synthesis, which identifies anomalies and generates automated alerts and visual insights.
By using Greenlight, operators can detect early signs of electrical degradation—such as abnormal currents, thermal stress or changes in phase-to-screen ratios—at specific joint or termination locations.
Initial commercial installations of Greenlight are already in place with offshore wind operators and transmission network operators. Further deployments are planned throughout 2025.
