
ORMONDE CABLE REPAIR
In early 2017, routine monitoring of cable performance by Transmission Investment, revealed some degradation of the wind farm export cable. Soltech in partnership with GME offshore was contracted under a framework agreement to assist Transmission Investment with a repair of the single Ormonde export cable. This involved writing a tender brief, evaluation of a rapid tender response and contracting both early works contracts and the marine installation and repair.
Due to the location of the fault, close to the Offshore Substation, it was necessary to organise the overall methodology for repair and procure additional equipment, including Cable Protection Systems and connectors. A review of the stock holding for submarine cable repair joints and the availability of qualified jointers and specialist tooling, lead to the conclusion that a 3rd party joint from Power CSL provided the best opportunity for repair.


The Soltech Group and GME offshore partnership was retained to provide onshore and offshore support through the Construction phase. The project team also formed a good working partnership with TI and its other contractors to identify and mitigate risks and solve the many challenges presented during the repair. These included several instances of equipment not being in accordance with as built drawings, necessitating emergency design and fabrication of equipment and revision of the agreed methodology of repair. It is believed that this is the first deployment of the “Universal Joint” for export cable repair and this provided many benefits for this deployment and shows potential for forming the backbone of future repair strategies.
Soltech continues to provide support to the operation and maintenance of cable systems through consultancy advice on developing appropriate O & M strategies and provision of resources for the implementation of cable repair projects.