wiredinUSA April 2013

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wiredInUSA - April 2013 35
ABBhas receivedanorder fromthe Icelandic
transmission system operator Landsnet
to supply a high-voltage submarine and
underground power cable system to
transport electricity from the mainland to
the volcanic island of Heimaey.
Heimaey is the only inhabited island of
the Vestmannaeyiar archipelago off the
southern coast of Icleand. The new 72kV
cable system will replace an aging existing
cable. It will increase the transmission
capacity of the existing link to supply
power to the island’s 4,100 inhabitants and
thriving fishing industry.
ABBwill deliver theentire17.5kmhigh-voltage
cable system, including a 13km submarine
section, a 4.5km underground section
and an integrated fiber optic cable. ABB
is also responsible for design, engineering,
submarine cable laying, joints and
terminations, testing and commissioning.
ABB projects include offshore wind farm
connections, power-from-shore links to
offshore oil and gas installations, subsea
power interconnections, mainland to island
power links, underground city in-feeds,
and the integration of renewables with the
power transmission grid.
High-voltage
to Heimaey 2013
Fiber optic cables, unused on the Atlantic
seabed for about three years, are to
be diverted to the Isles of Scilly in a £3.7
million scheme to provide islanders with
the fastest broadband speeds. A cable
ship will spend about a month cutting
and moving the two cables, which were
previously used for communications
between the UK and Ireland and Spain.
Ranulf Scarbrough, Superfast Cornwall
programdirector for BT, said: “BT engineers
have devised a highly innovative and
environmentally-friendly scheme to bring
fiber broadband to the islands. It is certainly
the most ambitious initiative of its kind ever
undertaken in UK waters and probably in
Europe.
“The remote location of the Isles of Scilly,
their wonderful maritime heritage and
scientific and environmental status will
present a variety of unique engineering
challenges, but BT has extensive
experience of laying subsea cables in
sensitive locations around the UK and
further afield.”
Undersea
to Scilly
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