According to General Cable, Bard Offshore 1 is the first commercial wind farm to be located in the North Sea and is expected to be completed in 2010. Norddeutsche Seekablewerke (NSW) will produce approximately 66 miles of power cable for the infield infrastructure portion of the project.
The field will be located in water 75 miles offshore with a depth of approximately 130 feet. General Cable acquired NSW in April 2007 and began an investment program to expand the capability of the facility to include submarine power cables and submarine telecommunications cable.
General Cable believes that once the expansion of NSW is completed, it will be well positioned to address all aspects of submarine cable needs for the expanding offshore wind farm market.
Valentin Jug, chairman of NSW, said: We believe that the North Sea will be an area of high growth for wind power generation due to its ideal conditions of high sustainability of wind and shallow waters, key factors allowing for efficient use of the turbines and for anchoring the windmill towers.
