A Barnstaple-based offshore engineering firm has been appointed to carry out works on the subsea cables at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in the Orkney Isles.

J+S, which also has offices in Aberdeen, will provide and install its sub-sea connections to cables at the site, upgrading the facilities being used by wave and tidal power developers trialling their devices at EMEC.

The upgrades should make it easier or devices to connect to the EMEC power export cables and deliver power to the grid.

The contract represents a coup for oil and gas specialists J+S, which only recently established a renewable energy division in the past two years.

J+S's managing director, David Jeffries, said: "This is a major breakthrough for our company and vindication of our strategy of diversification from our core naval support and oil and gas markets into the rapidly emerging wave and tidal sectors of the marine renewables energy market."

Work has already begun at the site in Orkney, with J+S hoping to complete the work by the end of the summer.

Installation

The firm will be installing its own connectors, which it has designed and manufactured from scratch, and which have not yet been installed at any other location.

But Chris Napier, who has led J+S' new renewables division for the past six months, told New Energy Focus yesterday that the firm is also working with the South West Regional Development Agency to install the connectors at the Wave Hub project being planned for a location off the coast at Hayle, Cornwall.

The renewables division at J+S accounts for 5% of the business so far, but Mr Napier also confirmed that the company is hoping to diversify into the offshore wind sector, and is currently working with wave and tidal power developers.

J + S is installing new connectors for the EMEC power cables

EMEC managing director Neil Kermode, said: "We are pleased to be working with J+S on this prestigious contract. I am confident that J+S's many years' experience in marinising in-water electrical connections for naval and oil and gas applications will be successfully developed to provide high voltage connection capabilities for our sites."

J+S operates from sites at Barnstaple and Aberdeen, employing 120 people in a range of engineering and production activities, primarily in naval support and sub-sea asset management for the North Sea oil and gas exploration markets.

EMEC is the first wave and tidal test site of its kind in the world.

source: newenergyfocus.com