28 May 2024
Rentel wind farm cable back online
Approximately four months on from the failure of the cable which connects the Rentel wind farm to the mainland, the repair work has now been completed.
The fault was located just below the Rentel transformer platform. A new section of cable, approximately 400 metres long, was attached to the platform and connected to the existing cable under the seabed. The four connected wind farms were still able to generate electricity throughout the repair work, because they are part of the meshed offshore high-voltage grid (via Elia's MOG or offshore power hub). Their electricity output was capped slightly during periods of very high winds to prevent the operational export cables from being overloaded. Despite this, another offshore and onshore wind energy production record was broken in the first few months of this year.
- The repair work was very technically complex and challenging due to the location of the fault and the weather conditions
- The alternative transmission route via Elia Transmission Belgium's MOG (offshore power hub) worked perfectly and ensured that all wind farms continued to generate electricity, despite the fault
- The windy weather conditions in recent months hampered the repair work but did allow very high levels of wind energy to be produced
- The cause of the fault is still being investigated
