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ESS double up on Wikinger offshore wind farm project

Ecosse Subsea Systems (ESS) has had its trenching scope on the Wikinger offshore windfarm in the Baltic Sea increased with the award of a contract for a seabed clearance project. Last year the Scottish company was awarded a contract by main contractor Prysmian Group to carry out pre-cut seabed trenching prior to cable laying on Iberdrola's 70-turbine windfarm. Iberdrola's global offshore wind projects are managed by ScottishPower Renewables, headquartered in Glasgow. The initial contract has now significantly increased in scope with the award of route clearance and seabed preparation work on the 350 megawatt Wikinger development.

Keith McDermott, commercial director at EES, said: "Detailed surveys discovered a number of obstacles on the proposed route and we have been contracted by Prysmian Group to carry out seabed clearance and route preparation prior to commencing the trenching work. This is an area in which we have a great deal of experience and a strong track record of working in different terrains, and our SCAR Route Clearance system has been used in similar projects in the Baltic."

Once the seabed is prepared, ESS's SCAR plough will undertake first pass and multi-pass trenching in preparation for Prysmian's installation and burial of 81km of submarine cables which will connect the turbines to the offshore substation.

Mr McDermott added: "Our previous experience of seabed clearance and trenching on the Baltic 2 windfarm proved the versatility of the SCAR system and in particular its suitability for the soils in this region. We offer a robust, cost effective option for major cable-laying workscopes, helping reduce the levelised cost of energy from offshore wind."

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