North Sea wind farms held up by cable shortage, developers warn
Turbines are ready but the high-voltage lines to bring power ashore are years behind, threatening Britain's 2030 clean-power target
Britain's push to decarbonise its electricity by 2030 is running into a problem that has nothing to do with wind, turbines or planning: there is not enough cable.
Three of the largest projects in the British sector of the North Sea have told the government that export cables, the thick subsea lines that carry power to shore, are now the critical path on their schedules. One has pushed its completion date back by more than a year.
Global demand for high-voltage cable has outstripped the capacity of the handful of European factories that make it, and the specialist ships that install it are booked years ahead.
“We can build turbines faster than we can connect them,” said Freya Lindholm, who manages offshore construction for a Danish utility with British projects. “That was not true five years ago.”
The energy department said it was working with manufacturers to bring a new cable factory to the north-east of England. Industry figures said a plant would take four years to build and qualify.
