Rentel has awarded a contract to ABB to supply an advanced cable system to connect the $1.4bn offshore wind farm in the North Sea to the Belgian grid.
Under the $80m contract, ABB will be responsible for the designing, manufacturing and installation of a 220kV alternating current (AC) submarine cable system for the offshore substation at the project.
With a transmission capacity of around 300MW, the 40km-long extruded three-core system is will transport clean electricity from the wind farm to shore.
ABB power grids division president Claudio Facchin said: "The Rentel windfarm cable link will help bring clean wind power to the people of Belgium.
"It is another example of ABB technologies that enable the integration of renewable energy and lower the environmental impact, which is an integral element of the company’s Next Level strategy."
ABB will use its vessel for the cable system installation work.
The connection is expected to help Belgium to meet it 2020 goal to generate 13% of total power using renewable sources.
Scheduled to be commissioned in 2018, the wind project will feature 42 Siemens’ SWT 7.0-154 wind turbines installed approximately 32km away from the Belgian coast. It is expected to generate electricity required to power nearly 280,000 households.
The project is expected to create 2,000 jobs during construction phase and 100 jobs once operational.
Image: Offshore windfarm will generate renewable power. Photo: courtesy of ABB.