Nexans' Cable for World's First Harsh-environment Floating Solar Plant
Offshore cable manufacturer Nexans will deliver export cable for Equinor's floating solar pilot offshore Frøya in Norway.
The floating solar project is slated to come online in December 2021 and will be the world’s first floating solar plant operating in rough offshore waters.
The Frøya floating plant will measure 80 m x 80 m, with a height of less than 3 meters above the sea surface, hosting an array of solar panels capable of producing up to 1 megawatt.
Utility-scale floating solar power is currently one of the fastest-growing renewable technologies as governments and investors around the world explore every possibility for safer, sustainable, and decarbonized energy. This is expected to drive almost 10 gigawatt of new floating solar deployment by 2025, Nexans said.
Under the contract with Equinor, Nexans will supply a 22 kW export cable of 5 km to connect the floating platform from shallow waters to land.
"The most challenging aspect for the cable construction is to handle the dynamic loadings as the connection at the platform end pitches up and down with the waves. Nexans is utilizing a three-core cable design of a type well proven in offshore wind farm and fish farming installations. The cable will be manufactured at Rognan plant in Norway," Nexans said.