Nexans SA (Nexans) has received a EUR26 million contract from EBTE, the Alupar Investimento SA. Nexans will supply all aluminium alloy conductor (AAAC) to construct five new 230 kV overhead transmission lines with a total length of 775 km to improve power infrastructure in the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The AAAC overhead conductors replace the steel core and pure aluminum outer layers of conventional aluminium conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) conductors with aluminum alloys.
The project (ANEEL 04/2008 Group D) will provide additional transmission capacity to handle the output of a number of new power generation projects that will contribute to Mato Grosso’s economic development as well as increasing Brazil’s national power generation capacity. It comprises five new 300MW overhead power transmission lines: Juba – Maggi – Juina (447 km); Maggi – Parecis (106 km); Nova Mutum – Sorriso – Sinop (222 km).
“The Mato Grosso project is an excellent example of Nexans’ capability to draw on our wide portfolio of overhead conductor designs to provide the ideal cost-effective solution to meet a customer’s specific technical needs and installation schedules”, said Jorge Tagle, Nexans Executive Vice President South America Area.
This conductor is both lighter and stronger than ACSR, making it ideal for long spans, as well as being more resistant to corrosion. The use of AAAC will enable EBTE to reduce the total number of pylons required for the project by around 8%.
Each overhead transmission line will comprise three phases, so Nexans will supply a total length of around 2,350 km of conventional round wire AAAC with a cross-section of 456 mm2. The conductors, which will be manufactured at Nexans’ Lorena Plant in Brazil, are scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2009, while EBTE plans to begin operation in the second half of 2010.