New technology developed in Scotland looks set to tackle one of the most expensive and disruptive problems facing the global energy sector.

A single high-voltage cable fault in transmission networks and offshore wind developments can cost up to £1 million per day in lost revenue.

The vast majority of these failures, almost 70%, originate not in the cables themselves, but in their joints and terminations.

These critical components are often out of sight and beyond the reach of conventional monitoring techniques, leaving operators vulnerable to sudden and financially catastrophic outages.

Glasgow-based Synaptec has launched Greenlight, a groundbreaking monitoring solution designed specifically to address this problem by delivering early warnings of emerging faults before they become failures.

“Greenlight gives operators control over the most unpredictable and expensive aspect of offshore cable operations and maintenance,” said Dr Steven Blair, who is Vice President of Applications at Synaptec.

The first commercial Greenlight installations have already been deployed with offshore wind operators and transmission systems internationally. There are plans for further large-scale installations throughout 2025.