Giant wind farm cable ducts installed without digging up beaches

Engineers have installed two cable ducts, each nearly 1.8 kilometres long, beneath England’s Suffolk coast and seabed for the East Anglia TWO offshore wind farm. The work created a protected route for future power cables without digging up beaches, dunes or coastal habitats.

Using a drilling technique that follows a curved underground path, crews bored from Thorpeness to exit points offshore, then pulled the ducts through to shore. Made in Norway by Pipelife, each plastic duct was produced in one uninterrupted length, avoiding welded joints. ScottishPower Renewables says they are the world’s longest continuous single sections of extruded polyethylene, the plastic used to make them.

The £4 billion wind farm is being built about 33 kilometres off Suffolk. Its 64 turbines will have a combined capacity of up to 960 megawatts, enough to power nearly one million homes. The civil engineering contract supports more than 80 jobs during construction.

The connection is not complete yet. The first cable to carry electricity ashore is expected to be installed in summer 2027, with the wind farm aiming to begin commercial operation in late 2028.