ELECTRODE is the first programme of its kind for the continuous collection of anonymous data around subsea cable failures in offshore wind.
The new platform, to be launched by ORE Catapult at the end of 2023, will track failures, service downtime, as well as the effectiveness of the repair and monitoring procedures, and use of technology in cable failures.
Subsea cable failures are the biggest insurance cost for the industry, accounting for 75-80 per cent of claims in the UK. The cost implications of even a single cable failure can be enormous too, taking an average of two months to repair and often exceeding the £10 million mark in costs and lost power generation.
ELECTRODE (Electrical Cable Failure and Reliability Trending for Operational Developments) will involve collaboration and the continuous collection of anonymous data, paving the way for radical advancements in the offshore wind industry.
It will be operated in a similar way to our SPARTA model, with anonymity the core principle of the platform. There will be no risk to owner/operators who take part.
ELECTRODE will:
Owner/operators will be in Tier One and will be anonymous. They will contribute data and have access to data provided by other unidentified owner-operators.
The supply chain, installation, insurance industry and academics will be in Tier Two and will be able to access trended analysis for their own market and underwriting insights.
A working group is being established to enable them to collaborate and shape ELECTRODE. They will assess data and methodologies to determine if they are sufficiently accurate to obtain industry approval.
To register your interest, get involved in the working group, or find out more, email ELECTRODE@ore.catapult.org.uk
All correspondence will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Benefits to owner/operators
Owner/operators will be able to: identify trends and recurring issues, accelerating innovation in reliability, and benchmarking themselves against others. ELECTRODE will provide trends that will support improvement of efficiencies, driving down costs, and provide data for presentation to insurers and investors at the negotiation stage.
Benefits to suppliers
Suppliers will be able to access the trended data in order to better tailor their services and concepts to industry needs. They will be able to adapt their methodologies and use of technology to improve survey, installation, manufacturing and maintenance of subsea cables, enhancing their competitive edge and resilience.
Benefits to insurance industry
The trended outcomes will provide trusted insight that will give vital information leading to the reduction of risk and costs. The data will include cable faults and failures, severity and repair time as well as the most common uses around monitoring and protection.
Benefits to repair and installation
Services will have access to mean downtime for repair and recovery to allow organisations to benchmark performances. Installation will be able to access the trended data in order to better tailor their services and concepts to industry needs.
Recent industry work has determined the trending and benchmarking methodologies chosen for ELEctrical Cable failure Trending for Operational DEvelopments (ELECTRODE), as well as proposing an approach to subsea cable benchmarking for offshore wind. Establishing an industry-wide subsea cable benchmarking system could provide further insight to a variety of services and organisations, driving forward innovation and improving reliability of subsea cable systems.
The Industry Feedback and ELECTRODE Approach report has been released that includes findings from two workshops and from one-to-one engagement with Owner/Operators (OOs), supply chain, asset services and insurance organisations. From a poll collected from the first workshop (November 2020), 9 in 10 participants stated that their organisation had been affected by lack of cable failure insight. Research carried out by Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, shows it is possible to benchmark useful data, and is already being done in other industries such as oil and gas (O&G), and telecommunications with lessons learned that can be shared with the OW Sector.
The offshore wind industry has reacted well to the proposal of an initiative such as ELECTRODE. The development of ELECTRODE has included lessons learned and industry insight from a multitude of industry experts. The Tier 2 demographic is made up of those in the cable sector such as supply chain, repair, installation services, insurance, innovation, and academia.
Before Tier 2 subscription, the Tier 2 demographic have supported the development of the platform and the approaches for trending. They have brought their own expertise and knowledge to the working group.
The working group and individual operator associates have worked with us to provide the content in the ELECTRODE report.
