wiredinUSA October 2014

Cables catch the tide

Power cables to support Nova Scotia’s tidal energy project will be laid in theMinas Passage this fall. Matthew Lumley, spokesman for the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy, said: “Once those cables are laid, any turbine maker, anywhere in the world,

can come and plug their device into that cable end and deliver power.” The four cables range from two to three kilometers in length.

The 15cm diameter cables have two protective layers of galvanized steel armor for protection, and contain three copper cords to conduct the electrical power, plus copper control cables to allow turbine operators to move and adjust their equipment. Data will be transmitted from machine to shore along 24 fiber optic cables. Workersarecurrently installing‘drymate’connectors totheunderwater cables to protect the ends of the unused cables until the new test turbines are connected. Anunderwaterplatformwillbemountedtotheseabedandconnected to a 3km subsea data cable. The platform, which contains equipment that will allow researchers to measure conditions in the Minas Passage in real time, is expected to be in place by the end of 2014. After the power cables and subsea platform are installed, the group will move to Phase 2 of the sensor program with a larger, more robust and recoverable version of the platform that can be used in other parts of the Bay of Fundy.

wiredInUSA - October 2014 i I

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