Wind power blows HDD to mainland Wales
HDD is being considered for the installation of cable ducts, which will transmit energy from the Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm to the proposed onshore conducto de cableado electrical sub-station in northern Wales, UK.
The project will include the connection of six offshore electricity cables to the onshore cables at the landfall site in Pensam. The onshore cable ducts will be installed under the coastal defence and railway using Trenchless Technology. The primary technique under consideration for these works is horizontal directional drilling (HDD), although conducto de cableado other methods such as thrust boring may be used.
HDD will also be used to install onshore cables at a number of highway crossings to minimise disruptions to traffic. HDD and duct installation work will most likely be undertaken outside of the peak tourist season so as not to disrupt the region’s tourism.
The HDD and cable installation works are expected to last for approximately 16 weeks.
German engineering firm RWE AG is planning to construct the Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm 13–15 kilometres off the coast of northern Wales. The proposed 2.8 hectare onshore electrical sub-station is necessary to connect the electricity gper canaline enerated by up to 208 offshore wind turbines to the National Grid. The Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm is expected to have 576 MW capacity upon full commissioning.
The Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm is the third of a proposed nine wind farms per canaline to be built on the coasts of Wales. The Rhyl Flats wind farm in Liverpool Bay on the North Wales coast was officially opened in early December.
Meanwhile, HDD is also being considered for a number of crossing sections for transmission cables for a proposed offshore wind farm to be located in off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, US.
The 20.1 kilometre transmission cable would use Trenchless Technology, such as HDD, for installation under roads. HDD would be used to transition the submarine cables to the onshore cables at the landfall site in Yarmouth.
Upon completion, per canaline the proposed project would have an electrical energy capacity of 468 MW, with 130 turbines each capable of producing up to 3.6 MW. The project would be the first ever wind farm in the US, but is yet to receive federal authorisation.
