Powering Offshore Wind Farms With Numerical Modeling of Subsea Cables

Mote use of finite element analysis, which we also utilized for modeling of key manufacturing systems.

Powering Offshore Wind Farms With Numerical Modeling of Subsea Cables

 Hellenic Cables in Greece uses finite element modeling to analyze and validate underground and subsea cable designs  By  Brianne Christopher

“Laws, Whitehouse received five minutes signal. Coil signals too weak to relay. Try drive slow and regular. I have put intermediate pulley. Reply by coils.”

Sound familiar? The message above was sent through the first transatlantic telegraph cable between Newfoundland and Ireland, way back in 1858. (“Whitehouse” refers to the chief electrician of the Atlantic Telegraph Company at the time, Wildman Whitehouse.) Fast forward to 2014: The bottom of the ocean is home to nearly 300 communications cables, connecting countries and providing internet communications around the world. Fast forward again: As of 2021, there are an estimated 1.3 million km of submarine cables (Figure 1) in service, ranging from a short 131 km cable between Ireland and the U.K. to the 20,000 km cable that connects Asia with North America and South America. We know what the world of submarine cables looks like today, but what about the future?

Photo of a ship carrying huge coils of submarine cable for deployment in the ocean.Figure 1. Submarine cables keep the world connected.

Moving Wind Power Offshore

The offshore wind (OFW) industry is one of the most rapidly advancing sources of power around the world. It makes sense: Wind is stronger and more consistent over the open ocean than it is on land. Some wind farms are capable of powering 500,000 homes or more. Currently, Europe leads the market, making up almost 80 percent of OFW capacity. However, the worldwide demand for energy is expected to increase by 20 percent in 10 years, with a large majority of that demand supplied by sustainable energy sources like wind power.

Offshore wind farms (Figure 2) are made up of networks of turbines. These networks include cables that connect wind farms to the shore and supply electricity to our power grid infrastructure (Figure 3). Many OFW farms are made up of grounded structures, like monopiles and other types of bottom-fixed wind turbines. The foundations for these structures are expensive to construct and difficult to install in deep sea environments, as the cables have to be buried in the seafloor. Installation and maintenance is easier to accomplish in shallow waters.  .... ' 

Solar Storms and Undersea Cables

 Brought this up recently, a long time area of interest.  Note the particular mention that undersea cables would be at particular risk.

Bad Solar Storm Could Cause an 'Internet Apocalypse'

Wired, Lily Hay Newman, August 29, 2021

A study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) on the potential impact of a coronal mass ejection on the global Internet found that continent-connecting undersea cables would be at particular risk from such a massive solar storm. The cables have repeaters fitted in approximately 50- to 150-kilometer (31- to 93-mile) increments, and cumulative failure of those repeaters could render entire cables inoperative. The researchers found that long distances between repeaters increase their potential for exposure to geomagnetically induced currents, while a solar storm also could damage orbiting equipment that enables services like satellite Internet and global positioning. UCI’s Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi also warned of knock-on outages if cable blackouts cause foundational data routing systems to malfunction.... '

Google to Add Atlantic Sea Cable

Somewhat surprising with all the attempts to get Satellite based links.  I assume to get more backup connections as we continue to depend more on reliable data. 

Google's new subsea cable handles data surge between US, Brazil, Argentina

The new Firmina fiber optic link will be draped across the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and working by 2023.

By Stephen Shankland  ...in CNet

UK Protecting Critical Undersea Cables

This piece made me think.  And consider from who, using what .... and what are the implications?

New Royal Navy ship to protect 'critical' undersea cables  in the BBC

A new Royal Navy surveillance ship is to be built to protect "critical" undersea cables.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned "the lights could go out" if national infrastructure was lost, and the cables were "incredibly important".   He also told the BBC's Andrew Marr that Russia had "taken a deep interest" in the cables and the UK would be "deeply exposed" without further measures.

It comes ahead of Monday's publication of the defence command paper.

The document will give more detail for the armed forces on the conclusions of the integrated review of the UK's foreign and defence policies.  ... "