17 / 22
wiredInUSA - July 2015
wiredInUSA - July 2015
33
32
ASIA / AFRICA NEWS
INDEXJ-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?
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.
Botswana moving on
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.
Home grown fiber
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