Forum to improve subsea cable reliability and performance
Trade body Global Underwater Hub has established the Subsea Cable System Forum.
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It aims to improve the performance and reliability of subsea cable systems – crucial elements for offshore wind infrastructure for transporting electricity to the grid.
More than US$800bln of global investment in windfarms is anticipated by 2030, and for a net-zero emissions world by 2050, offshore wind must increase its generating capacity by 1,120GW.
The UK Government is targetting 50GW of installed capacity by 2030.
'This scale of expansion, in both fixed and floating offshore wind, can only be achieved by installing and maintaining hundreds of thousands of kilometres of reliable subsea cables,' comments GUH Chief Executive Neil Gordon.
'The performance and reliability of these cables is therefore crucial to delivering the UK’s clean offshore power ambition and global net-zero targets. But these cables are highly susceptible to damage during installation and operation, leading to substantial insurance claims and costly downtime.'
In 2024, the Offshore Wind Industrial Growth Plan identified future electrical systems and cables, and the next generation of offshore installation, operation and maintenance as two of five areas in which the UK should be a world-leader.
The Hub says this is due to the size and growth of domestic and international markets, existing capabilities, a track-record of solutions to complex technical challenges – such as deploying the world's largest, fixed offshore wind farms – and five decades of oil and gas expertise.
Gordon notes that unlike fixed offshore wind, floating offshore has few standards and no established supply chain, with major hurdles varying from supply constraints to cost escalation.
The forum will develop an agreed roadmap and be led by an industry steering committee, while working with partners across the sector. The ambition is to drive innovation and improvements in systems-based design, data-sharing and quality control.