C01 - The Influence of High Voltage Cable Accessories & Metallic Screen Connections on the Reliability of Offshore Wind Farms Cable Systems

In the next decade, over 177 GW of wind offshore power will be added to the grid. To support this ambitious goal, the capacity of wind turbines will increase from today's average rating of 7.8 MW to over 14 MW, making 1 GW offshore wind farms the new norm.

This significant change will require higher power ratings for the export and inter-array cables and the associated cable accessories. It will affect not only the conductor ampacity, but also the current carrying capacity of the metallic screen of the power cables and cable accessories.

In this poster, the importance of this metallic screen connection will be shown and different test regimes and existing standards for the evaluation of this connection quality discussed. We will also showcase one example of simulation and testing for a specific offshore wind farm power cable and demonstrate the impact on the reliability and the lifetime of the whole cable system.