Offshore Renewable Energy(ORE) Catapult has confirmed a £2.1 million investment to build a new high-voltage cable electrical testing facility at its test center in Blyth, northeast England. This program has been funded by the North East Combined Authority, and aims to strengthen the country’s infrastructure for the certification and validation of cable technology used in offshore wind energy projects.
Rigorous testing for offshore wind cables
The new laboratory will apply higher-than-operational voltage and current levels in controlled conditions that simulate extreme environments, including buried, piped or submerged saltwater installations. These “pre-qualification” tests will allow the reliability of the systems to be evaluated prior to commercial deployment.
Currently, certification procedures can take up to two years due to the lack of specialized infrastructure in the United Kingdom. This new facility is expected to reduce these timescales, enabling new technologies to enter the market more quickly.
JDR Cable Systems, a company specializing in the manufacture of submarine cables, will be the first to use the new facilities. This collaboration aligns with the objective of strengthening the UK supply chain for offshore wind, which already represents a market opportunity valued at £19 billion over the next decade.
Kim McGuinness, mayor of the Northeast, mentioned that this project consolidates the region as a national reference in clean energy. Currently, the Northeast is home to more than 550 companies linked to renewable energies, which generate some 17,000 jobs. It is estimated that this figure will rise to 24,000 by 2035.
The new facility will be connected to other ORE Catapult test laboratories in Blyth, facilitating a comprehensive approach that combines electrical, mechanical and materials evaluations. According to Alex Neumann, chief engineer for high-voltage testing, this testing ecosystem will accelerate innovation and support both manufacturers and local suppliers.
Source and photo: Offshore Renewable Energy
