Canadian firm Nalcor Energy has awarded Nexans a contract valued at over EUR80M for a submarine high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable that will be used to deliver power from Muskrat Falls hydro plant being developed in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The contract includes the manufacture, supply and laying of approximately 100km of subsea HVDC cable and accessories to interconnect Labrador and Newfoundland, via the Strait of Belle Isle, which will deliver power from Muskrat Falls in Labrador to the island of Newfoundland.
The Nexans submarine HVDC cable forms part of the new HVDC transmission link, rated at 900MW and having a total length of 1100km. A key purpose and rationale for this transmission link is to put in place infrastructure to bring power from Labrador to the island portion of the province to meet the growing electricity needs in the province.
The HVDC cables will be manufactured at NVC, Nexans’ factory in Tokyo, Japan. Nexans will supply: three lengths of mass impregnated submarine power cables rated at 350 kilovolt (kV), with an integrated fibre optic element; three underground cables that will be used for the land connections at either side of the strait; accessories comprising of joints, spares, and terminations.
The subsea HVDC cables will be installed with Nexans’ own installation vessel, the C/S Nexans Skagerrak.