Jee, a subsea cable engineering company, has completed a project for an unnamed wind farm operator to assess the risks to the array cables within a UK offshore wind farm.
With concerns about the integrity of cables on the wind farm, the operator awarded Jee a contract in March 2016 to compile a risk framework to be used as a basis for a risk based inspection (RBI) plan.
As part of the study, Jee determined and ranked the risks to the array cables and provided guidance on the acceptability of each risk. Cable spans along the seabed and spans at the monopile bases due to scour were a particular area of concern. To address this, Jee provided guidance on the maximum allowable free span length for each cable type using OrcaFlex analysis. Other risks considered were cable exposure, vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) and fishing interaction. To conclude, Jee made recommendations for mitigation and management of the risks and provided their client with suggestions for further study.
Jim Buston , Business Development Manager at Jee, said: “We are seeing an increase in the number of clients coming to us for support on their cable operations, correlating with the growth of the offshore wind industry. We are pleased to offer our technical support services to operators, and help them with their complex cable studies across the whole life span of their assets.”