Prysmian capabilities in the Offshore Wind Farm field: developing new solutions to enable the energy transition
“The transition towards renewable energy is very much linked to the capability to transmit and dispatch energy from one place to another, from those locations where clean and renewable energy is produced (offshore wind farms) to those locations where is consumed (urban centers)”
Olivier Angoulevant
BU Director Offshore Wind
The growth in energy generation brings to a growth in interconnections
The growth in energy generation brings to a growth in interconnections
As a result of these developments, Prysmian is seeing demand for cables that offer improved electrical and mechanical performance. The level of power transmitted needs to be higher and losses need to be lower. One important driver in the submarine interconnector market is the need for cabling at ever-greater depths, which requires state-of-the-art armouring material as well as cable laying expertise. Tenders are increasingly asking for companies’ qualifications in these areas. The expected development of floating offshore wind farms should also boost the demand for dynamic cables – resulting in a highly promising new market in the horizon of 2025-2030. Prysmian is building up considerable experience and projects track record in this area from working on the Kincardine 1 and 2 floating wind power projects, and the Provence Grand Large floating offshore wind farm.
Increasingly stringent environmental requirements have also resulted in our investments in copper technology as an alternative sustainable material to replace lead. Our completely eco-friendly P-Laser technology, manufactured using thermoplastic materials and 100% recyclable, also contributes to achieving the highest levels of sustainability for our products and solutions. Several countries have formalized their commitment to producing many Gigawatts of clean energy in coming years. These clear targets offer Prysmian the possibility to plan capacity well in advance. This allows us to meet the demand for products in the areas of generation as well as distribution. In German Corridor underground energy projects, for example, we’re enabling higher levels of power generation and interconnection. The growing number of offshore wind parks in the Baltics and North Sea, for example, which need to transport vast amounts of clean power from North to South, required unprecedentedly large, safe and efficient cable interconnections to dispatch energy from where it is generated to where it is consumed. We’re investing in cable system able to increase the voltage and dimension, while ensuring lower losses.
“In the past, we’ve mainly acted as a cable supplier for inter-array projects, but now, we’re increasingly supplying cables and engineering services, as well as installation operations, terminations, and testing, effectively positioning as a solution provider.”
Riccardo Fabbri
Head of Project & Contract Management
Indeed, Prysmian has three of the most state-of-the-art cable-laying vessels in the world (plus one under construction), being able to offer extended project versatility with deep-water installation capabilities of up to 3,000m, as well as shallow-water and near-shore solutions.
In 2020, we have successfully executed many turnkey activities, and we plan to increasingly focus on turnkey projects, for which we have been awarded important project contracts. We invested extensive efforts to being able to deal with the complexity of turnkey projects, not only with regard to project management to ensure flawless execution, but also in areas such as engineering, having the right setup in production facilities, and frame agreements with dedicated critical main suppliers.
In addition, we are actively monitoring a number of topics that will also affect the wind market. These include use of hydrogen, vast generation islands, and the combination of wind plus solar.
Successfully overcoming COVID-19 challenges
This year the unexpected happened. However, thanks to a long history of dealing with issues caused by external factors, Prysmian dealt with the challenges effectively.
“We continued to produce cables, with engineers and project managers largely working from home, and kept operations going in a safe way. We also successfully continued to manage external operations”
Riccardo Fabbri, Head of Project & Contract Management.
On the land side, we had to consider social distancing and quarantines. After a while we got used to this approach – the changes were very similar to the changes previously applied to the production facilities. On the vessel, things were a little more challenging, as we could have 100 people on board for weeks at a time. We introduced a number of dedicated measures. Our vessel was sanitized and regularly underwent testing. We have met our deadlines and made progress on operation. We now have clear processes in place with regard to COVID-19. Internally, but also with our subcontractors.
