Belgian wind energy developer Parkwind NV selected Nexans S.A. to design, manufacture and test the submarine power export cable for the 219-MW Northwester 2 offshore wind farm.

The 220-kV export cable will transport the output of the 23-turbine Northwester 2 wind farm to the Elia System Operator SA-owned Offshore Switch Yard platform connected to Modular Offshore Grid.

Northwester 2, located 46 km off the coast of Zeebrugge, Belgium, is "the first offshore wind farm to feature the world's most powerful wind turbine, MHI Vestas' 9.5-MW V164 turbine model," Nexans said in a news release. The wind project is expected to begin operations in first half of 2020 and will supply power to Belgium's grid.

Headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, Parkwind develops, finances, builds and operates offshore wind farms in the North Sea. Sumitomo Corp. owns a 30% interest in the Northwester project.

Belgium aims to increase its offshore wind energy capacity to 2,200 MW by 2020 and to 4,000 MW by 2030. Currently, the country has four offshore wind farms with a generating capacity of 871 MW.

Nexans, headquartered in Paris, provides cables and cabling solutions worldwide. Its team in Norway will conduct cable tests and termination works. The cable is expected to be manufactured in early 2019 in Norway and related accessories will be delivered by a Nexans facility in Switzerland.