Isle of Wight Subsea Cable
Island LinkOperationalGB120 MW132 kV6.53 km2014
Status:Operational
Capacity:120 MW
Project Company:
IOW SPV LTD
Type:island link
Website:www.ssen.co.uk
The Isle of Wight subsea cable is part of the UK’s domestic submarine electricity network that provides an electricity supply connection from the mainland to the Isle of Wight. Its strategic role is to maintain secure, reliable mainland-sourced power to the island, supporting local demand and reducing reliance on local...
Supply Chain (1)
Project Timeline (7)
20 Oct 2014Financial Other
Scottish and Southern Energy’s distribution business Southern Electric Power Distribution (SEPD) committed around £14 million (reported as a $21 million/£13 million project and as costing over £14 million) to a deep sea bed 132 kV subsea cable replacement between Thorness Bay on the Isle of Wight and Lepe in Hampshire, awarded to a joint venture between VolkerInfra and VBMS/VSMC as the first subsea electrical installation under the Solent in decades.
£14M
20 Oct 2014Commercial Operations Full Power
By 20 October 2014, the 132 kV subsea electrical cable installation under the Solent, replacing one of three cables supplying the Isle of Wight, had finished its final phase, with the new cable connected to Southern Electric Power Distribution’s 132 kV network at Thorness Bay, pre‑commissioning tests completed, and the circuit handed over to the operator ready for service, completing the project so that the island’s electricity supplies can be provided entirely by subsea cables between the Isle of Wight and the Hampshire coast.
26 Jun 2014Cable Supplier Selected
Scottish and Southern Energy awarded the €17.5 million (£14 million) deep sea bed subsea cable replacement project under the Solent to a specialist joint venture between VolkerInfra and Visser & Smit Marine Contracting (VSMC), selecting them to manufacture and install a bespoke 5.6 km, 132 kV cable to replace one of three cables supplying electricity to the Isle of Wight. This contract made the VolkerInfra–VSMC joint venture the main cable contractor for the first subsea electrical installation under the Solent waterway in 40 years.
Nov 2013Cable Landfall Complete
In November 2013, the first phase of the Isle of Wight–Hampshire subsea cable replacement project was completed with the successful installation of a 930‑metre horizontal directional drill from Thorness Bay on the Isle of Wight out into the Solent seabed, creating the shore crossing for the new 132 kV cable as part of a scheme to replace one of three electricity supply cables to the island, delivered by a VolkerInfra–VSMC/VBMS joint venture for Scottish and Southern/SEPD.
Date TBDCable Installation Start
Cable installation for the Isle of Wight subsea interconnector under the Solent began in early June, when senior executives from VolkerWessels UK and Scottish and Southern Energy visited Thorness Bay to mark the first stages of installing a bespoke 5.6 km, 132 kV cable between the Isle of Wight and the Hampshire coast, delivered by a specialist joint venture between VolkerInfra and VSMC using marine installation vessels and divers.
Date TBDCable Installation Complete
The second phase of the Isle of Wight subsea cable project, involving installation of a single bespoke 5,600‑metre 132 kV cable weighing 600 tonnes between the Isle of Wight and the Hampshire coast and burying it under the Solent, was completed in June (year not specified). This phase, delivered by a specialist joint venture between VolkerInfra and VSMC for Scottish and Southern Energy using marine installation vessels and divers, marked the successful completion of the deep seabed cable installation works to replace one of the three subsea electricity supply cables to the island.
Date TBDOnshore Construction Start
Onshore construction for the Isle of Wight subsea cable replacement began with the first project phase, involving installation of cable ducting and a 930‑metre horizontal directional drill from Thorness Bay on the Isle of Wight out into the seabed of the Solent, marking the start of physical onshore works for the new high‑voltage link to Hampshire.