FEATURE A STEP TOWARD STANDARDIZING SUBMARINE POWER CABLE INSTALLATIONS: An End-to-End Software Approach BY HERMANN KUGELER AND ADRIAN JELFFS
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he offshore power cable market plays a critical role in meeting the increasing demand for renewable energy sources – from providing electrical transmission from offshore wind to linking regional grid interconnections. However, despite their critical roles in fulfilling growing demand, the installation of many of these cables continues to be completed without the aid of established software practices, which, if adopted can reduce installation risks and costs. An end-to-end software approach, providing seamless support from planning to post-installation with automated route planning, installation simulator training, a-priori simulation, and at-sea monitoring and control, would help standardize and enable greater quality control throughout the process. Mirroring the telecom industry, early adoption of software tools can be seen as burdensome by the early operational teams, who are experienced in their traditional methods. However, despite the industry experience, there remains an inherent lack of visibility into what truly happens beneath the surface. After several decades, Makai Ocean Engineering (Makai) now estimates upwards of 90% of the global telecom fleets uses the end-to-end software suite of MakaiPlan,
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MakaiPlan Pro, and MakaiLay – reducing risk through improved planning, simulations, monitoring and control, and operator training. Many of these fundamental installation risks remain for power cable installations, and increase even more when installing in dynamic sea states and deep water. Power cable failures account for a significant portion of insurance claims in offshore energy projects around the globe. According to industry reports, cable-related issues constitute over 80% of insurance claims for offshore windfarms1, a staggering figure that underscores the critical importance of installation management. These failures are often related to fishing activities, vessel anchoring, cable abrasion, damage after violating minimum bend radii and environmental factors that can often be attributed to poor installation design and planning, inadequate tension control during installation, and under burial. Using advanced software tools, such as the Makai suite of programs, can significantly help to minimize these risks. 1 Maloney, D. (n.d.). 80% of insurance claims in offshore wind are related to subsea cable failures – how can the industry manage these risks?. DNV. https://www.dnv.com/ article/80-percent-of-insurance-claims-in-offshore-wind-are-related-to-subsea-cable-failures-how-can-the-industry-manage-these-risks/