Prysmian Wins Equinor's Empire Wind Gig

Norwegian energy company Equinor has contracted Italian cable manufacturer Prysmian to supply the submarine inter-array cable system for the 816-MW Empire Wind project off the coast of New York.

Prysmian will provide the 66kV insulated array cables and ancillaries that will transmit power from the wind turbines which will have a capacity in the range of 10-15MW.

The cable system will undergo continuous fabrication at Prysmian’s centres of excellence in Montereau (France) and Nordenham (Germany) and its completion is expected in the summer of 2022 and the final installation in 2023 or 2024.

The construction of the cable system’s power cores is set to begin by the end of December 2019.

“This agreement marks an important step forward in the development of Empire Wind and will allow us to transport twice as much power over a single inter-array cable as current industry practice. The agreement with Prysmian will help ensure that Empire Wind brings affordable and renewable energy to New Yorkers as efficiently as possible,” said Christer af Geijerstam, President of Equinor Wind US.

“We are proud to support Equinor in this important challenge, providing North American power grids with our top-quality cables, our expertise and cutting-edge technologies able to support the clean energy transition in the US," stated Hakan Ozmen, EVP, Projects Business Unit, Prysmian Group.

Prysmian Group will be responsible for the design, supply and storage of approximately 150 km of 66 kV XLPE-insulated inter-array cables, which will transmit twice the current industry standard ensured by 33 kV systems.

Prysmian Group is consolidating its leading role in the US offshore wind industry, providing customers with cutting-edge technologies and expertise, supporting them throughout the entire project life cycle.