Subsea cable management: Failure trending for offshore wind

Abstract. Subsea power cable failure is an issue which is detrimental to both export cables for Offshore Transmission Owners (OFTO) and inter-array cables for wind farm operators. As the offshore wind sector advances in technology, size and capability, future sites will be farther offshore to harness the most powerful of wind conditions. As technology adapts and offshore wind develops, subsea cables are also required to acclimatise and become more reliable. This paper will review current subsea cable failures in the UK sector. In addition, it will provide an overview of the methodology used to initiate the failure trending, and further discuss the importance of accurate data and the constraints on the initial findings.