

wiredInUSA - October 2016
27
INDEXNexans cable technology has been
selected by VBMS for what is believed
to be the world’s first 66kV offshore wind
farm.
As part of its own contract with EDF Energy
Renewables, VBMS will use Nexans 66kV
inter-array cable system to provide the
subsea connection between the offshore
turbines and the onshore grid for the Blyth
Offshore Demonstrator wind farm project.
The Blyth project, located 5.7km off the
port of Blyth in Northumberland (UK),
consists of three arrays of five wind turbine
generators. The 66kV inter-array cable
network and separate export cables will
carry the energy onshore. The subsea
cable will be manufactured and tested at
Nexans’ factory inHanover, Germany, and
will be supplied, in 2017, in one length. The
related connectors will be manufactured
by Nexans Power Accessories in Belgium,
and have been developed from 33kV
technology.
World first?
A statement from Italy-based cable
manufacturer Prysmian has revealed
plans to raise the output capacity of two
telecoms cable production facilities in
Slatina, Romania, and Presov, Slovakia.
“Both plants will be the biggest in Europe
for their category once they reach full
capacity in the beginning of 2017,” the
statement said.
The company is aiming to double the
output capacity of its Romanian factory in
2017, and to triple its production capacity
by 2020. To fulfill the planned investment,
Prysmian has secured a grant from the
Romanian government.
Prysmian’s Slatina factory was launched in
2013 and currently exports 70 percent of
its output.
Telecom cable capacity
Photograph courtesy of Prysmian