In the largest ever contract landed by Japanese firms for transmission cables overseas, J-Power Systems and Sumitomo have won a 32 billion yen order to lay 350 km of undersea cables between Taiwan and outlying islands off its west coast.
The project involves laying six 15 cm-diameter undersea power cables linking Taiwan and the Penghu islands some 60 km to the west. J-Power Systems, a prominent maker in Japan of HV power transmission lines, is a joint venture of Hitachi Cable and Sumitomo Electric Industries. It will manufacture the cables in Japan, while Sumitomo will be responsible for installing them in water 150 m deep. The cables will be delivered to Taiwan Power Co. during fiscal 2013-16.
The cables are one phase of a plan to install wind turbines on the Penghu islands, which experience strong winds, and transmit the power to Taiwan.
