EDS HV Group (EDS) has secured a 15-year operations and maintenance (O&M) contract for offshore transmission owner (OFTO) assets at the 500MW Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm.
Images; The company will supply maintenance services on both the transmission assets and auxiliary systems, Photo courtesy of Falk Schaaf/Freeimages.com.
EDS won the contract from Equitix Investment Management, which owns the concession and who will depend on EDS’ skills and experience to asset management to help maximize the availability of the high voltage network.
For the contract, EDS’ team will provide full turnkey solution for the two offshore platforms, the onshore substation and grid connection at the 500MW offshore wind farm located about 23km off the coast of Suffolk, England.
Equitix director Nathan Wakefield said: “We are delighted to have secured the services of EDS who are passionate about providing the very best operationally. They bring extensive experience to the management and processes of transmission assets like Greater Gabbard OFTO and we look forward to working alongside them to maximise availability and output to the grid.”
The company will supply maintenance services on both the transmission assets and auxiliary systems, including fire systems and cranes, as well as providing crew transfer vessels (CTVs). Operations will be managed by the company’s 24/7 control centre and will include network surveillance, high voltage (HV) safety management and marine coordination using James Fisher’s Offshore Wind Management System (OWMS).
EDS HV Group executive director Ryan Henderson said: “This is a key contract award which aligns with the James Fisher group’s long-term strategy to become the number one provider of operations and maintenance services to the offshore wind industry.
“At EDS HV Group, our mission is to maximise high voltage network availability in offshore wind to help ensure the long-term sustainability of our industry. We are really looking forward to starting this journey with Equitix at Greater Gabbard as we continue to build on our strong relationship.”
Last month, the company announced that it worked with other contractors to restore power during a planned outage at the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm. EDS was given the responsibility of re-connecting and testing the array cable on the IG substation during the planned outage.