Subsea cable condition monitoring system
30/11/2021
Global controls technology company Proserv Controls has received industrial sponsorship from ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) for Electro Cable Guard (ECG), its disruptive subsea cable condition monitoring system for the offshore wind segment.SPR is part of the ScottishPower group of companies operating in the UK under the Iberdrola Group, one of the world’s largest integrated utility companies and a leader in wind energy.
The sponsorship agreement will see SPR provide its expertise and resources both from a cable owner and operator perspective, bringing vital knowledge into the project to assist in the ongoing development and ultimate functionality of ECG.
SPR’s input will greatly help the future commercialisation of the system, with its close understanding of the key requirements of the industry across asset owners and developers.
ECG has been initiated and driven by Proserv with critical support from its consortium partners Synaptec, a power system monitoring leader, and BPP Cable Solutions, cable engineering specialists.
The system offers a paradigm shift in present market offerings around condition monitoring of both inter-array and export cables.
The consortium has adopted a holistic approach to building its solution, incorporating multiple parameters, such as distributed temperature, acoustic and electrical sensing, with synchronous real-time monitoring across an asset and continuous automated data analysis.
Machine learning will be integrated into the system so that, once fully engaged, minute anomalies in performance, even within normal operating boundaries, will be detected, potentially indicating future issues requiring remedial action.
It is anticipated that the capabilities of ECG will lead to huge advances in the way subsea cables are managed, significantly reducing the incidence of faults and failures on offshore wind farms in the future.
Proserv’s agreement with SPR comes just months after the ECG project received two thirds of its £1.5 million development costs, totalling £1 million, via a Smart grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.
The funding programme is offered to the “best game-changing and commercially viable innovative or disruptive ideas.”
The remaining sum is being supplied by the respective members of the consortium.
As the ECG project moves forward, it is anticipated that the technology will be demonstrated on a UK commercial-scale wind farm in the second or third quarter of 2022.
