Prysmian Group has been awarded a new contract worth approximately 85 million euro by REE (Red Eléctrica de España, S.A.U.), the Transmission System Operator of the Spanish electricity system, for the second circuit of the interconnection between the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Ibiza.
The project involves the design, supply and installation of a turn-key High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) cable system designed to transmit a power of 118 MVA and consisting of 132 kV extruded cables and associated fiber optic cable system along a total route of more than 123 km (115 km submarine and 8.6 km land) for the interconnection between the two islands that will enable integration of Ibiza in the Peninsular network system by ways of the existing “Romulo” (Iberian Peninsula-Mallorca) cable system.
The submarine cables for the Mallorca-Ibiza link will be manufactured in the Arco Felice plant (Naples), the Group's center of technological and manufacturing excellence; land cables and optical components of the submarine link will be manufactured in Vilanova i la Geltrù (Spain). Production of both submarine and land cables will be during 2014. Marine cable operations in deep waters (up to 750 m, a highly challenging activity, well within Prysmian’s proven expertise of record depths of more than 1600 m) will be performed using the Group’s own vessel Giulio Verne. Cable installation and protection will be completed during 2015.
“This new project, confirms the trust of REE towards Prysmian reliability after several projects already developed together (Iberian Peninsula-Mallorca/Romulo, Spain-Morocco I and II/Remo)” states Marcello Del Brenna, CEO Prysmian Powerlink. It further highlights Prysmian's strategic role in supporting the realization of the important development plans in the field of power grid interconnections.
Prysmian has a long-standing track record in the development of submarine interconnection milestone projects in the entire Mediterranean region, in addition to Spain, such as Italy-Greece, Sardinia-Italian Peninsula (SA.PE.I.), and Dardanelles. The Group is also a founding member of the industrial partnership Medgrid, launched to study the feasibility of a high-voltage direct current interconnection project to transmit electricity from solar or wind power plants to load centers on either rim of the Mediterranean. These achievements again demonstrate Prysmian’s know-how and technologies validity in the development of state-of-the art cables for power transmission and the commitment to support smarter and greener power grids worldwide. Among other projects in which Prysmian has recently been involved are some of the largest and most strategic developments such as the Hudson Project in New York and the Trans Bay Cable in San Francisco.
In Europe, Prysmian is playing a key role in the development of power connections for offshore wind farms, with projects either completed or on-going in Denmark, Holland, UK and in Germany. The Group is currently realizing also the Western HVDC link between Scotland and England, a strategic project for the upgrade of the entire British transmission grid. With an extended worldwide industrial footprint of 17 plants dedicated to High Voltage cables and three plants mainly dedicated to submarine cables, the Group has timely invested to meet the ever growing challenges of the industry.
