Nexans has secured a contract to design, manufacture and install a 335km subsea high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable system in Greece.
The contract has been awarded by Ariadne Interconnection, which is owned by Greece’s state grid operator IPTO.
Under the contract, Nexans will install the cable system for the interconnection that will link the electricity network on mainland Greece to Crete.
The cable will cover a distance of 335km from the Attica region on the Greek mainland to the Herakleion area in Crete, which currently relies mainly on out-dated fossil fuel generation.
The new submarine cable interconnection is expected to offer security of supply for the island and enables the transition from fossil fuel generation to renewable wind and solar energy resources.
Nexans stated: “The new submarine cable interconnection will ensure that Crete has a reliable power supply essential for its future prosperity.
“The interconnection will also reduce emissions, making the island even more attractive to tourists, and also helping it to develop its own renewable energy resources by enabling excess generation to be exported back to the mainland.”
Nexans will deliver one 500MW HVDC subsea cable system
The interconnection is expected to become operational in 2023.
Nexans will deliver one 500MW HVDC subsea cable system to form half of the total 1GW bipole interconnection.
The company will manufacture the HVDC cable at its plant in Halden, Norway and/or the plant in Futtsu, Japan.
The cable will be installed by by one of Nexans’ own dedicated cable vessels – Nexans Skagerrak or new Nexans Aurora.
In November last year, the company was selected by RTE France to supply and install offshore and onshore power export cables for the 496MW Saint Brieuc offshore wind farm.
