Ecosse Subsea Systems Lands First Danish Project
Ecosse Subsea Systems (ESS) has secured its first subsea trenching contract in the Danish wind farm sector, having been subcontracted by European offshore service specialist JD-Contractor A/S to perform precut trenching works on the Kriegers Flak Offshore Wind Farm project in the Baltic Sea.
Due to come online in 2022, Kriegers Flak will be Denmark's largest offshore wind farm to date, with 600MW offshore wind turbines to be erected at Kriegers Flak which will be capable of covering the electricity consumption of approximately 600,000 households.
Located approximately 45 km from the coast of Rodvig, owners Energinet.dk plan to install two 220 Kw submarine export cables and a 9 km connecting cable between two offshore platforms.
Scottish-based ESS noted that it has previous experience of providing seabed preparation and trenching services in the Baltic Sea.
ESS commercial director, Keith McDermott, said, “To support the installation scope ESS will deploy our SCAR 1 seabed system from JD-Contractors AHTS vessel to precut trench along multiple sections where the seabed conditions are considered particularly challenging.
“Soils along the route are extremely variable and include sand, stiff clay and weathered limestone. In total, in excess of 20 km of precut trenching is anticipated along the routes.
“Our technologies are adept at working in varying soil conditions and are robust enough to counter weather variables. We are establishing a strong track-record of successful wind farm developments in the Baltic and North Seas and look forward to working with JD-Contractor to help deliver this groundbreaking and innovative renewables project.”
Formed in 1996, ESS has evolved from a company specializing in subsea technology used in the oil and gas sector to meet the needs of the emerging renewables industry, particularly seabed clearance and trenching operations prior to cable laying for offshore wind farms and interconnectors.
Kell Thyssen, Director of International Projects of JD-Contractor, said, “JD-Contractor is pleased to have been awarded the KF protection contract from Energinet.dk.
“Due to the varied nature of the seabed in the area, the KF Protection scope of work includes both pre-trenching works in shallow and deep water, as well as embedding by means of jetting. JD-Contractor will therefore utilize a range of different spreads for the protection work, based on the knowledge that JD-Contractor has gained over the last 40 years. The spreads that will be utilized includes both own and external resources.
“JD-Contractor has chosen to team up with Ecosse for the pre-trenching operations in deeper waters, as Ecosse has the knowledge, know-how, equipment and competent personnel to support and supplement JD-Contractor for this part of the KF Protection scope of work.”
