Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm has completed the installation of its second 85-kilometre offshore export cable off the east coast of Scotland. The second of two 220 kV three-phase export cables was installed in three 28-kilometre sections by Enshore Subsea using the cable-laying vessel CMOS Installer, operating from the Port of Blyth. Two offshore joints were completed by specialists aboard Normand Cutter. The cable was buried in the seabed using the ENS1100 hybrid trenching vehicle, with some final rock placement still to be completed.
The two parallel cables will transmit power from the wind farm’s offshore substation platform to its new onshore substation at Cockenzie, East Lothian, before connecting to the national grid. The cables are expected to be energised in the coming weeks, ahead of first power towards the end of this year.
The 2,000 mm² cable was manufactured by Ningbo Orient Wires & Cables (Orient Cable). A total of 170 kilometres of export cable has now been installed.
Inch Cape has also completed installation of its monopiles and transition pieces. Current offshore work includes array cable installation by the new-build vessel *Altera* and jacket foundation pin pile installation by Alfa Lift. Components for the project’s 15 MW turbines are being delivered to the Port of Dundee for tower assembly and offshore installation.
The project remains on track to enter full commercial operation in 2027.
Inch Cape is owned equally by ESB and Red Rock Renewables. Once completed, the project is expected to generate almost 5 TWh of electricity annually.
