wiredinUSA July 2015

INDEX

Australian utility AGL’s 102MW solar PV plant, the largest in Australia, has reached full generation capacity to power the equivalent of 33,000 homes per year. AGL is conducting final commissioning and testing, ahead of the plant becoming fully operational later this year. The US$340 million plant in Nyngan, New South Wales, will supply energy to the National Electricity Market. It is funded by US$129 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and US$50 million from the New South Wales government. The project, built in partnership with US thin-film producer First Solar, spans 250 hectares with 1.35 million installed PV modules. First Solar and AGL are also collaborating on the 53MW Broken Hill solar project, also in New South Wales. ARENA chief executive Ivor Frischknecht said the achievement is another critical step forward for large scale solar PV in Australia, adding: “This new Australian record sends a strong signal to the energy industry that utility-scale solar PV plants can be constructed on time, and on budget.” More solar comes online

Home grown fiber

Botswana moving on

J-Power Systems Corporation (JPS), a subsidiary of Sumitomo Electric Industries, has been contracted to supply a subsea high voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector cable system between UK and Belgium. The contract was awarded by NEMO Link Ltd, a joint venture between National Grid Interconnector Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary company of the UK’s National Grid Plc, and the Belgian Elia group. The cable system will comprise a 130km subsea cable route and an 11.5km land cable route, and the cable will be connected to HVDC converter stations in both Kent,UK, and Zeebrugge, Belgium. JPS’s responsibility under the contract will be a full EPC including design, manufacturing and installation of the HVDC cross-linked polyethylene insulated cable system. XLPE has several technical advantages over conventional cable for subsea use, including a higher operating temperature and oil-free insulation material. When the 400kV DC NEMO Interconnector is energized in early 2019, it will have the highest operational voltage of DC XLPE cable in the world, which at present is 320kV. Record-breaking cable?

Azerbaijan is aiming to reduce its dependence on foreign optical fiber, following a contract between Sumgayit Technology Park and the Aztelekom Production Association. Optic fiber deliveries are expected within the framework of the development of broadband Internet in Azerbaijan. Work on theproject is expected to begin in the second half of 2015. Sumgayit Technology Park launched production of fiber optic cables at the end of 2014, and expects to fully meet domestic demand. The chief advantage of a local producer is lower cost - about 30 percent less than the price of imported foreign analogs. Cable products, including fiber optic, coaxial and LAN cables, account for 15 percent of the total volume of production at the park. The production capacity of the company is nearly 20,000 tons per year. At present, Sumgayit Technology Park produces about 10,000 types of cables. Moreover, the production of 500kv cables at the park will allow Azerbaijan to take leadership in the region and in the CIS in general, because production technology has not yet been established in the countries of the former Soviet Union.

Botswana has invited bids for the construction of a 100MW solar powered plant, part of the country’s plans to become energy self-sufficient within five years. Botswana is currently experiencing power and water shortages, which its central bank warned last month could undercut aims to maintain growth above four percent. Kitso Mokaila, the minister for minerals, energy and water, said that two 300MW power stations are due to start generating electricity in 2018 and 2020. The latter plant is an extension to Botswana’s only operational power station, the coal-powered Morupule plant, currently producing 600MW.

ASIA / AFRICA NEWS

wiredInUSA - July 2015

wiredInUSA - July 2015

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