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Executives from Ørsted said in an earnings call on Tuesday that the project was making progress, to date installing 52 turbine foundations, 9 turbines and 20 array cables, which are used to transfer power.
"We have experienced challenges installing one of the offshore substation monopile foundations and are evaluating the best path forward," the company said in an emailed statement to the Globe. "The project remains on track for completion in 2026."
The setback contributed to a reassessment of the risks involved with the project, executives said.
"Although it has been safely driven to the target depth, it may not be suitable for use as currently installed," Mads Nipper, Ørsted's president and CEO, said in the earnings call. "The course is likely to be related to the resistance within the seabed soil, which is an extremely rare occurrence that we have only seen very few times in our experience."
The issue with installing the substation will make the project more expensive, Trond Westlie, Ørsted's chief financial officer, said in the earnings call.
"In addition, we have reassessed the risks related to the offshore scope of the project, leading to higher contingencies being added," he said.