EMEC in cable study

The European Marine Energy Centre is to share information on the performance of subsea cabling to support the development of commercial wave and tidal energy sites.

Funded by The Crown Estate, the project will see EMEC and Engineering Technology Applications Ltd (ETA) carry out a review of existing data to assess the reliability of subsea cables installed in the harsh wave and tidal conditions at EMEC’s test sites at Billia Croo and the Fall of Warness, off Eday.

To date there has been little information published about how subsea cables survive and perform in high energy marine environments, and as commercial wave and tidal sites around the UK enter the initial planning phases, information on how subsea cables may perform in areas such as the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters lease areas will be vital to project developers and investors to progress successfully.

With its first cables installed over 10 years ago, EMEC has collected considerable amounts of data.

Numerous routine remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys have been undertaken to examine structural integrity alongside comprehensive electrical cable testing.

The aim of the project is to collate and review this information and provide a report on the resulting performance of the cables.