Rentel, Belgium

The Rentel offshore windfarm is located in the North Sea, approximately 34 kilometers off the Belgian coastline. Thanks to the link, which reaches land close to Zeebrugge, the renewable energy project will contribute to the efforts that are being made to meet Belgium’s environmental objectives for 2020.

One goal for the country is to increase the share of renewable energy to 13 percent of the total energy production. The project also supports the European Union’s environmental targets for 2020.

The energy transmitted from the offshore windfarm allows for a greener Belgium as it is capable of providing enough electricity to meet the needs of around 300,000 households.

In order to succeed with the project, Rentel NV in Belgium needed an experienced and efficient cable system manufacturer as well as a reliable partner for supplying the cable installation in a safe, reassuring and environmentally friendly manner. They selected us.

We designed, manufactured and installed the approximately 40 kilometer long extruded threecore 220 kV (kilovolt) AC (alternating current) submarine cable system. This connects the windfarm to the shore with a transmission capacity of around 300 MW (megawatts).

With responsibility for both cable manufacturing and offshore installation, we were able to plan and execute the work in a successful way. This resulted in coordination advantages as well as possibilities for parallel and alternative marine operations, which contributed to the fact that we were able to deliver on time – even though the project encountered challenges. Among the challenges were the risks caused by strong currents in the shallow waters close to shore. In close collaboration with Rentel NV, we found solutions to complete the project without delays.

The major part of the installation was performed using our state-of-the-art cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria, and the nearshore part was conducted using a cable-laying barge. All cable-laying operations were performed successfully.

The Rentel offshore windfarm link is thus another good example of how our technologies and services both enable the integration of renewable energy and lower the environmental impact. This is in line with our company’s strategy – and it brings clean power to the people of Belgium.