ScottishPower Renewables says it has achieved a global engineering first at its £4 billion East Anglia TWO offshore windfarm, with the installation of two record-breaking cable ducts beneath the Suffolk coastline.
The ducts, each measuring around 1,793 metres long and 800 millimetres in diameter, will provide a protected route for the high-voltage cables carrying electricity from the 960-megawatt windfarm to shore. The company says the operation involved the world’s longest continuous single sections of extruded polyethylene ducting.
East Anglia TWO will be located in the southern North Sea, around 33 kilometres from the Suffolk coast at its nearest point off Southwold and 37 kilometres from Lowestoft. With a planned capacity of up to 960 megawatts, it is expected to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of almost one million homes.
The work used horizontal directional drilling, which creates a passage beneath the ground without having to dig up beaches, dunes or cliffs. Drilling rigs operated from both onshore and offshore, helping minimise disruption to the coastline and sensitive habitats.
The construction work was led by OCU Group, with support from its subsidiary Peter McCormack & Sons, while the ducts were manufactured by Pipelife in Norway and transported to Suffolk by sea. The construction contract is supporting more than 80 jobs.
The first export cable is expected to be installed in summer 2027, with commercial operation targeted for late 2028. ScottishPower Renewables says the project has already contributed more than £1.5 billion to the UK supply chain.
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