EDS HV Group completes works at Elia’s Modular Offshore Grid as Belgium’s renewables industry prepares for growth.

•  EDS completes testing, jointing and termination works for ELIA’s modular offshore grid (MOG), marking a hugely important step for the renewables industry in Belgium.
• The team worked to establish a connection between the MOG’s offshore submarine cables and the onshore cables at ELIA’s Stevin 380kV onshore substation in Zeebrugge.
• EDS sub-contracted by the project cables manufacturer, Hellenic Cables S.A., to perform the works on behalf of EPC contractor, Dredging International NV, part of DEME Group.

High voltage engineering specialist, EDS HV Group (EDS), has completed testing, jointing and terminations for ELIA’s modular offshore grid (MOG), which is a first-of-its-kind offshore grid connection project in the Belgian waters of the North Sea.

Sub-contracted by the cables manufacturer, Hellenic Cables S.A., EDS performed the works on behalf of EPC contractor, DEME Group, and completed testing to establish a connection between the MOG’s offshore submarine cables and the onshore cables at the ELIA operated Stevin 380kV substation in Zeebrugge, helping to contribute to Belgium’s target of 4 GW to be installed by 2028.

By acting as a central hub, the MOG reduces the number of exports required to connect multiple new wind farms to the Belgian onshore grid to just three, providing not only cost benefits but also a greater security of supply: if one of these important cables fails or is faulty, the wind farms will still feed its renewable, clean energy into Belgium’s grid. EDS’s experience, professionalism and expertise ensured that what could have been a complex process ended up being a smooth-running and efficient project for the client.

Ioannis Stergiou, senior project manager at Hellenic Cables, said:

“I would like to thank EDS and its team for their commitment, hard work and determination. For both the clients, and Hellenic Cables, this result is of high importance as the MOG project plays a vital role for Belgium’s energy plan.”

EDS, part of the UK’s leading marine services provider –James Fisher and Sons plc, completed a range of services including the preparation of two onshore transition joint bays with clean working habitats to help connect specialised 245kV cable joints with integrated fibre-optics. Following this major technical feat, the company completed the safe connection of three 245kV HV and FO cable end terminations to the MOG and one to the substation of the Rentel offshore wind farm.

Ken Ritson, group managing director at EDS, said:

“We have relished the opportunity to work on ELIA’s innovative modular offshore grid, and it’s great to have the chance to see first-hand how the industry is working to make the installation of new sites more sustainable and efficient. Once again, we’re pleased to say EDS teams worked successfully to the highest industry standards.”

Strategically important to Belgium’s renewable industry, Elia MOG marks the first step towards an offshore super-grid. The innovative solution will initially connect four (Rentel, Seastar, Mermaid and Northwester 2) new offshore windfarms when full-fledged operations commence in 2020, however its modular design pre-empts the aspiration to connect to more sites in the future.

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