This contract covers the design, manufacture, supply, installation, connection and commissioning of about 30km of extra high voltage (EHV) cables. Nexans will supply six 380kV XLPE-insulated underground cables, each approximately 5km in length, which corresponds to the length of the underground access tunnel in which they will be installed.
Laid in parallel to connect the new plant to the EHV power transmission grid, these cables will comprise copper core conductors with a cross-section of 1,600sqmm. The Limmern pumped-storage project in the Linthal valley will utilize the proximity of two existing water holding reservoirs – the Muttsee Lake and the Limmernsee Lake – by building an underground pumped-storage plant between the two lakes.
When power demand is at its peak, water will be released through the turbines of the new Limmern plant to generate electric power for the coverage of demand peaks. At night, as demand decreases, a larger amount of electric power is available on the grid and this will be used by the new Limmern plant to pump back water upstream from Limmernsee into Muttsee. For these pump-and-turbine operations, the Limmern plant will be supplied with some 1,000MW power through an underground access tunnel, which is about 5km long.
Dirk Steinbrink, managing director of high voltage land business unit at Nexans, said: “The experience of Nexans’ staff in Switzerland in EHV cabling projects has made it possible to meet the needs of our customer. The command of complex installation techniques in very challenging conditions was also a key requirement.
“With this project, Nexans once again demonstrates its leadership in the field of power infrastructure, with the capability to supply end-to-end solutions, from design to commissioning.”
