Under the contract, the firm’s Reef Subsea Power & Umbilical (RSPU) subsidiary will assist with engineering, project management, ROV and survey operations linked to the subsea installation and burial of all 161 infield array cables for Gwynt y Môr, located 13km off the North Wales coast in Liverpool Bay. The contract, awarded by Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm Limited, also covers connection to two offshore sub-stations.

The €2 billion project, comprising 160 Siemens 3.6MW turbines turbines, is one of the largest offshore wind farms currently in construction in Europe and will have an installed capacity of 576MW. Being built by RWE npower renewables on behalf of RWE Innogy (which holds a 60% share in the project), Stadtwerke München GmbH (30%), which is Munich’s municipal utility, and Siemens (10%), it is scheduled to be connected to the UK national grid in 2014. Once fully operational, energy generation from Gwynt y Môr is expected to be equivalent to the average annual needs of around 400,000 homes.

One of RSPU’s installation and burial spreads (vessel) will be on contract throughout 2013 for the work. “This contract with Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm Limited is a significant milestone for the Reef Subsea Group, and cements our place as a key player in the renewables sector when it comes to offshore cable installation & burial,” said Mark Preece, Chief Executive Officer of Reef Subsea. “Our extended workscope allows us not only to call on RSPU capabilities but also on the Group’s other companies confirming the rationale of our organisation.”

In addition to winning the Gwynt y Môr contract, RSPU has also recently received its certificates from Det Norske Veritas (DNV), for its accreditation in management, environment and health and safety systems ISO 9001, ISO 14001and OHSAS 18001, respectively.