Energy, Oil & Gas Magazine Issue 219 March 2024 | Page 79

______________________________________________________________________________________________________ JDR Cables
valves are controlled by the SPUs made here in the UK , which orchestrates safe shutdown of the pipeline , and the well , should there be an incident . These types of control umbilical were widely implemented following the tragic Piper Alpha disaster in 1988 . Hence , these umbilical control systems are there for safety , which is the fundamental consideration in the manufacture of all our products .
“ In around 2005 , we took the decision to enter the offshore renewable energy cable market , including wind and some wave and tidal applications . We decided to leave the commercial diving market as it was too contracted , and we took the business decision to refocus our efforts on these emerging new energy markets . When we first started our offshore wind cable projects , the cable voltage was around 33,000 volts . All the power from the wind turbines at the Greater Gabbard Wind Farm , for example , is collected by our cables at 33,000 volts . From these early wind farm arrays , we took the lead in the development of 66,000-volt array cable technology . By doubling the voltage , you are essentially doubling the amount of power for the same copper or aluminum conductor cross section . The reason that ’ s so important is it enables the use of much larger turbines offshore , whilst still driving down the cost of offshore renewable energy .”
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