A £40m (€50.4m) inter array cable contract for Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm has been awarded to Reef Subsea Power & Umbilical. It is the largest project in the renewable energy field to be won, thus far, by the Reef Subsea group, which is an established name in the offshore oil and gas market.
Commenting on the contract win, Reef Subsea chief executive, Mark Preece, said it "cements our place as a key player in the renewables sector when it comes to offshore cable installation and burial". The company also contributed to two other UK offshore wind farms: Greater Gabbard and Thanet offshore wind farms.
The contract has a broad scope and will see Reef Subsea provide services linked to project management, remote operated vehicles (ROV), survey and engineering as well as deployment of an installation and burial spread.
The latter will be designed specifically for offshore wind projects, says the company, putting Reef Subsea in a strong position to win future UK Round 3 cable contracts.
Reef Subsea group has offices in the UK, Norway, Canada, USA and Singapore. It is owned by GC Rieber Shipping (50%) and Norwegian private equity firm, HitecVision (50%). The latter has a stated policy of investing in oil and gas sector businesses and bought into Reef Subsea in 2010.
Construction of the 576MW Gwynt y Môr wind farm will involve installation of 161 infield inter array cables, with Reef Subsea’s work scheduled to begin in February 2013 and to complete by spring 2014. Full commissioning is scheduled for 2014. The wind farm will be located 13km off the north Wales coast and is joint venture being pursued by three leading German companies: energy multinational RWE (60%), regional energy utility Stadtwerke Munchen (30%), and technology-led giant Siemens (10%).
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