The last remaining survey work on the inshore areas of the Normandie 1 (N1) cable route here off Archirondel and off the French coast at St Remy des Landes is complete and Jersey Electricity’s route planners are now analysing the data for natural obstacles, terrain features and metal objects, including WW2 unexploded ordnance, that could pose problems for the installation of the new 100MW subsea cable later this summer.
The last remaining survey work on the inshore areas of the Normandie 1 (N1) cable route here off Archirondel and off the French coast at St Remy des Landes is complete and Jersey Electricity’s route planners are now analysing the data for natural obstacles, terrain features and metal objects, including WW2 unexploded ordnance, that could pose problems for the installation of the new 100MW subsea cable later this summer.
Though most of the 27km route was surveyed over several weeks last July and August, the remaining stretches could not be done until the old, decommissioned EDF1 cable had been successfully recovered from the seabed. This work was completed in April by Hughes Sub Surface Engineering of Merseyside which was awarded the contract to safely remove, recycle where possible and dispose of the cable, in accordance with JE’s environmental and regulatory obligations.
JE CEO Chris Ambler said: ‘We are delighted that this hazardous offshore work has been successfully completed and the N1 project as a whole remains on target. We always strive to ensure best value for Jersey Electricity and for our customers. In this case, the works were tendered and, written into the Invitation-to-Tender, were the rights to the scrap value of the old cable. The scrap value thus helped to offset the cost of removing the cable from the seabed.’