Triton Knoll appoints Murphy to deliver 'unprecedented' cable installation

Triton Knoll has chosen Murphy as preferred supplier for design and cable work for its wind farm near Skegness, in Lincolnshire. 

Murphy will install 60km of underground cable and carry out the largest number of horizontal directional drills ever undertaken on a single infrastructure project. 

Murphy will also design and install the project’s critical onshore cable circuits, stretching from the point of landfall near Anderby Creek, near Skegness in Lincolnshire to a new-build substation at Bicker Fen. 

Triton Knoll is an innogy-owned offshore wind farm, 32km off the coast. It has a planned installed capacity of 860MW, capable of supplying the equivalent of over 800,000 UK households with renewable electricity a year. 

The installation is one of the biggest engineering challenges of its kind, with almost 60km of underground cable to install, and over 300 obstacles to be crossed by individual horizontal direction drills – three times more than what’s believed to be the previous UK record for an infrastructure project. 

Murphy CEO Steve Hollingshead said: “This is one of the biggest power projects that Murphy will have worked on and it’s a real marker of the upward direction in which our business is going, as we continue to develop and grow. To have been chosen as preferred supplier for such a large and prestigious project shows that we are trusted by innovative companies like innogy to deliver world-class infrastructure projects that will improve people’s lives. 

“It’s an incredibly exciting and complex project, and we’re looking forward to working closely with innogy to provide first-rate results.” 

Triton Knoll project director James Cotter said: “This will be an unprecedented engineering challenge, where Triton Knoll and Murphy are pushing the boundaries of innovation and technology to deliver one of the longest ever underground cable installations linked to an offshore wind farm. 

“Our arrangement with Murphy really demonstrates how we are working towards delivering our target of at least 50 per cent UK content across the life cycle of the project. We anticipate important opportunities for local businesses both in terms of traditional sub-contracted works and wider support services. We are determined that local companies will have visibility of contracts and the opportunity to bid for work on our project and we believe that local companies can be successful. In this way, we hope to play a role in the retention of local jobs and skills and see investment flowing into the local communities. 

“We are incredibly pleased to have a business with such experience and presence on board, and welcome them to the Triton Knoll team.” 

Onshore construction is expected to begin next year with offshore work starting in 2020. The first energy generation could be as early as 2021, with the project expected to begin commissioning in the same year. 

For more information about the project, please visit: www.tritonknoll.co.uk