Nexans has announced its intention
to build a plant for the manufacture
of underground Extra High Voltage (EHV)
cables, with possible extension to
submarine HV activities, in the United States.
Nexans is investing in the new plant
to capitalize on the significant investments
expected in EHV cables in North America
in the coming years.
Total investment is expected to be around
US$80 million. The plant is expected to
begin operation in the summer of 2013.
The plant will reinforce Nexans’ current
product range in North America, adding to
the existing medium voltage, low voltage,
overhead transmission, industrial and LAN
portfolios.
In 2010, North America represented more
than 10% of the Group’s total sales with
over 1,300 people employed in seven
production facilities: four in the US and
three in Canada.
Nexans plans
EHV plant in US
wiredInUSA - August
12
wiredInUSA - August
13
CommScope Inc will supply
the Bishop Hill Wind Farm in Henry
County, Illinois, with its GroundSmart™
copper clad steel wire, an alternative
to solid and stranded copper that
is increasingly in demand, in part
for its anti-theft characteristics.
CommScope will provide 1.7 million
feet of GroundSmart copper clad
steel grounding wire to the project
during 2011, making it the largest
GroundSmart application to date.
“Copper clad steel continues to gain
in popularity due to the integrity
of the material and the suitability of
its use in grounding applications as
a replacement for copper for wind
farms,” said Ric Johnsen, senior vice
president, broadband, CommScope.
“Developers and contractors are
turning to a practical alternative to
solid copper. GroundSmart is the
smart alternative to copper, providing
high strength and reliability for years.
The developers of Bishop Hill see
GroundSmart as a simple solution
to reducing projects costs without
compromising the system’s integrity.”
Manufactured by the metallurgical
bonding of an outer sleeve of
copper to a solid steel core, copper
clad steel is specifically designed to
disperse fault currents and lightning
strikes at a lower total cost of ownership
compared to pure copper.
With copper theft on the rise,
the lower copper content in
GroundSmart reduces its attraction
for thieves.
Wind farm chooses copper
alternative grounding wire
