French cable-maker Nexans has landed the deal to supply the on- and offshore export cables for the first phase of SSE Renewables’ giant 1.1GW Seagreen wind power project in the UK North Sea

The preferred supply agreement, under which Nexans will design, manufacture and install three 65km offshore transmission lines and three 20km onshore export cables for Seagreen, covers the Alpha and Bravo projects now under starting construction.

Seagreen will be Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm when it comes on-line in 2024.

“We are delighted to receive this agreement from SSE and we are excited to be helping to bring the biggest windfarm in Scotland to life,” said Vincent Desale, Nexans SEVP for the contractor’s subsea and land system business unit.

Seagreen project Director John Hill added that the Nexans deal was “a major step forward for the Seagreen project”.

Seagreen, which is sited some 27km offshore in water depths of 35-70m, was awarded to SSE by the UK Crown Estate in 2010 as part the country’s Round 3 auction and consented in October 2014, but further development was waylaid until November 2017 due to an ultimately unsuccessful legal challenge by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Earlier this year, the developer won a UK contract for difference (CfD) covering 42% of the total project capacity, with SSE in the midst of finalising financing for full 1,075MW. Last month SSE signed a deal with MHI Vestas to deliver turbines for Seagreen.

Once on-line, Seagreen is expected to supply some 5TWh a year, enough power for around 1 million homes and saving around 2 million tonnes of CO 2 emissions annually. SSE sees phase 1 of the project as expandable to a total capacity of 1.5MW, but the larger Seagreen zone could house some 3.5GW of turbines.