Most offshore plants are not prepared for a cable failure, and a cable outage can be very costly. By offering their expertise and service NKT can help customers reduce expenses drastically in case of cable failure.

As the Walney Extension was inaugurated in September 2018, the export cable work was done by NKT, who designed, manufactured and commissioned the cable systems to connect the Walney Extension wind farm to shore.
- We are proud to be part of the ambitious project generating renewable energy in UK and we have seen great collaboration with Ørsted and other suppliers to the Walney Extension. In NKT, we are committed to the sustainable development of the global energy production, and this project reinforces our position as a leading provider of advanced high-voltage cable solutions connecting offshore wind parks to the power grid, says Stefan Persson, Head of Service & Installation at NKT.
Strong on cable service The company’s long history and expertise in all aspect of cable supply makes them an obvious choice for handling the cable service afterwards as well. Stefan Persson is one of the cofounders of the company’s service business, which alongside cable solutions is a key offering for NKT.

- We have been working actively on building a dedicated service department for close to a decade now. And we have a track record of at least 25 offshore repairs within the last few years, so we are very strong on power cable services, says Stefan Persson.
Cable failures are rare. But when it happens the expenses are often comprehensive.
- The key cost in the repair is the time when you cannot use your cable to transmit power. And the normal cable outage is 60 days, for offshore even up to a market average of 107 days. We are usually able to cut that by 70% and get the cable back in business in 30 days, says Stefan Persson.

Addressing an industry problem
Most companies are not prepared for cable failure, because the modern cables are usually totally maintenance free, says Stefan Persson:
- We experience maybe 10 offshore cable failures a year in Europe, so, it happens very, very seldom. That means that the plant owners have no experience and competence to repair a cable failure.
- You need to know where your spare parts are, you need to have your documentation ready, and you need to know that you have access to the right people, the right tools and the right expertise. That is what we are providing, says Stefan Persson. He believes that big expenses concerning cable failure is a general problem in the offshore market.
- About 80 percent of the claims hitting the insurance companies comes from cable failure, so I think that it is an industry problem that we are trying to address in that way.