EDS HV Group Awarded 15-Year O&M Contract at Greater Gabbard

High voltage engineering specialist EDS HV Group (EDS), part of the UK’s leading marine services company – James Fisher and Sons plc, has been awarded a significant 15-year operations and maintenance (O&M) contract for offshore transmission owner (OFTO) assets at Greater Gabbard. The contract has been awarded by Equitix Investment Management Ltd which own the concession and who will rely on EDS’s extensive skills, experience and innovative approach to asset management to help maximize the availability of the high voltage network.

Nathan Wakefield, director at Equitix, said: “We are delighted to have secured the services of EDS who are passionate about providing the very best operationally. They bring extensive experience to the management and processes of transmission assets like Greater Gabbard OFTO and we look forward to working alongside them to maximize availability and output to the grid.”

EDS’s team of multi-skilled engineers and technicians will provide a full turnkey solution for two offshore platforms, the onshore substation and grid connection at the 500MW Greater Gabbard in Lowestoft, Suffolk to help the wind farm fulfill its output potential.

EDS will supply maintenance services on both the transmission assets and auxiliary systems, including fire systems and cranes, as well as providing CTVs. Operations will be managed from EDS’s 24/7 control center and will include network surveillance, high voltage (HV) safety management and marine coordination utilizing James Fisher’s industry-leading Offshore Wind Management System (OWMS)®. 

Jonathan Ball, head of OFTO projects at EDS HV Group, said: “Supporting critical UK infrastructure such as OFTO assets requires a level of expertise and experience which we have developed in EDS for a number of years.  We are thrilled that our efforts have culminated in this contract award at Greater Gabbard, fulfilling our evolution to a specialist provider of high voltage engineering services.”

Ryan Henderson, executive director at EDS HV Group, added: “This is a key contract award which aligns with the James Fisher group’s long-term strategy to become the number one provider of operations and maintenance services to the offshore wind industry.

“At EDS HV Group, our mission is to maximize high voltage network availability in offshore wind to help ensure the long-term sustainability of our industry. We are really looking forward to starting this journey with Equitix at Greater Gabbard as we continue to build on our strong relationship.”

In addition to its core HV engineering expertise, EDS now has the capacity to offer its customers a diverse range of topside and subsea services, via the wider James Fisher group.