Tekmar Energy, a U.K.-based cable protection systems company, has won a supply contract for the 468 MW Cape Wind offshore wind project, located off the coast of Massachusetts.
Tekmar will design, manufacture and supply over 200 of its TekLink cable protection systems for the project's inter-array and export cables. The company says it will also supply its polyurethane bellmouth and internal cable guide cones, which are attached to the foundations and offer additional support and protection to the power cables. Once the project starts construction, Tekmar will provide support offshore during live operation by overseeing the installation of its products.
According to Tekmar, the Cape Wind project will be utilizing a new installation technique known as "pre-installation," which involves deploying a small support barge to install the cable protection systems ahead of the main cable installation. Tekmar says this enables a smaller, more cost-effective vessel to be utilized for cable installation, and the company's TekLink system has been specifically tailored to suit this method of installation.
"We look forward to working with the developers at Cape Wind," says James Ritchie, CEO at Tekmar. "This project in many ways marks the launch of an important new industry and the development of a corresponding supply chain in the U.S. We are proud to be a part of that effort."
Tekmar joins an ever-growing project team that Cape Wind has formed within the past year as the developer pushes forward. At the end of 2013, Cape Wind entered a deal with Siemens for 130 3.6-MW offshore wind turbines, and Bladt Industries and EEW Special Pipe Constructions GmbH signed on to supply foundations for the project. Cape Wind has also signed deals with a number of investors, including EKF and PensionDanmark. This past March, Prysmian Cables and Systems USA won a supply contract for various power cables.
Tekmar's contract with Cape Wind comes just days after the company announced an agency agreement with Massachusetts-based Whitman Consulting Group Inc. (WCG). WCG will represent Tekmar as its commercial services agent for the full line of Tekmar products and services in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, with a strong focus on offshore wind.
"Tekmar looks forward to working closely with American companies, such as Whitman Consulting Group, to ensure that the lessons learned in developing projects in the U.K. are successfully applied to U.S. projects to allow the market and supply chain infrastructure to develop and expand in a quality way," adds Ritchie.
