Nexans

Red Eléctrica de España awarded Nexans a €146 million contract for the COMETA/RÓMULO HVDC interconnector linking Sagunto on the Spanish mainland to the west coast of Majorca. Under this construction contract Nexans is responsible for engineering and supplying approximately 240 km of 250 kV HVDC submarine power cable with a 750 mm² copper conductor, using double galvanised steel wire armouring in the deep-water sections. The single-length cable design avoids offshore joints and is installed along a route that reaches depths of around 1,410 m, with burial below 800 m to protect the asset from the seabed environment. Nexans will also deliver associated fibre optic cables for communications. Installation was scheduled to start in late 2010 with overall completion targeted for mid-2011, providing a 500 MW, 250 kV interconnector to meet rising electricity demand in the Balearic Islands and enable their connection to Spain’s 400 kV grid.