| Work Detail |
JDR Cable Systems is already at the forefront of the production and supply of dynamic subsea cables to the floating wind market and will become a leader as the market expands, JDR’s Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer said in an interview with offshoreWIND.biz.
The UK-based offshore wind cable supplier has already delivered cables for several floating wind projects, including the 88 MW Hywind Tampen in Norway, currently the world’s largest floating wind farm in operation and the first to power oil and gas platforms.
JDR has also logged orders for Europe’s first floating wind farm, WindFloat Atlantic in Portugal, and the French EolMed project.With the new floating wind capacity announced in the UK and globally, the company is set to lead the way in the supply of dynamic cables, according to James Young, Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer at JDR Cable Systems.
“As a market leader in dynamic cables for floating wind in Europe, we are very interested in supplying these cables on a global scale too. Not only is the UK going to build more floating wind farms but there are also many other countries around the world that don’t have a very shallow continental shelf and will need to install floating wind turbines. And JDR is very much going to take a leading role in supplying the key technologies to make that a success”, James Young said.
Young further added that besides JDR’s expertise, development and investments, collaboration with offshore wind developers and the supply chain and, maybe even more so, with the government was crucial to further strengthen both the domestic capabilities as well as the UK’s position to export offshore wind technology.
Public-Private Sector Collaboration Key to Strengthening Offshore Wind Industry
For offshore wind projects, collaboration with developers and installation contractors starts very early to make sure everything is engineered properly and with a full understanding of how the cables and other components are going to be installed in harsh offshore conditions and how they are going to operate during their lifetime.
JDR is also part of industry collaborations and initiatives, including the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) which gathers developers and some of the leading supply chain companies who work together with the government. But some of the strongest collaborations are in the supply chain and research and development (R&D), according to James Young.
“Last November, JDR Cable Systems and NOF Energi Coast hosted a supply chain event with an aim to bring together as many new suppliers and existing suppliers as possible to talk about the importance of working together, sharing knowledge, innovations, and working on new technologies”, Young said.
The company has also been collaborating with the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult on the development and demonstration of innovative cable technologies for ten years.
“We worked together with ORE Catapult to demonstrate our 66 kV array cable technology and then took the 66 kV cables to the market where they have dramatically reduced the cost of offshore wind. So when you get these collaborations right, the supply chain can offer new technology for which some developers will raise hands to be the first users and that is exactly where significant reduction in offshore wind costs and benefits to the consumer can come from.”Still, more collaborative support is needed to position the UK as a leading producer of offshore wind technologies and companies such as JDR as a major exporter, Young highlighted and added that this can come only from the government which already set an ambitious offshore wind target for 2030.
Firstly, to maintain the strong pipeline of projects, regular subsidy allocation rounds are essential, as is the work on regulatory matters. On top of this, continued investment and combined investment with funding from both private and public sectors are needed to move the sector and offshore wind buildout forward, according to James Young.
“We find that if governments and industry are behind the investment in things such as our expansion project, it is much easier for us to also secure financing from our board or from our financial partners. So that is where collaboration can really help to unlock that private investment to scale up the facilities needed to deliver the energy transition”, Young said.
‘Look at Floating Wind!’
More than in any field, backing is needed in innovation and bringing new offshore wind technologies to the market, including cable systems, JDR’s Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer said.
“We need to see that continued pipeline of funding opportunities to develop technology in the R&D stage where the risk is higher. When you are working on an R&D project you are trying something new that inherently bears the risk of potentially not working. We need those funding schemes to help us to move new ideas forward. If these projects are done in the right way, they will deliver huge value for the consumers”, James Young said. |
