Cabling contract for Nexans

Nexans has signed a €146m contract to manufacture, transport and install a high voltage submarine cable between the Spanish mainland and the Balearic islands.

The 150kV, 500MW DC link is part of the COMETA (Conexion Medierranea de Transporte de Alta tension) cable project by Red Electrica de Espana. The project, worth a total €267m and covering a distance of 240km, will be completed by a consortium between Nexans and Prysmian.

The new link will be fed by Spain’s 400kV grid and will connect a power conversion station located at Sagunto, north of Valencia on the Spanish mainland, to the west coast of Majorca. This link is also designed to supply other Balearic Islands through secondary 132kV and 33kV links, including the planned Majorca-Minorca and Majorca-Ibiza-Formentera links.

The 750mm2 copper conductor cable will have a maximum depth of 1,410m and over 145km of Nexans’ 240km share of the cable will lay at below 800m deep. It will be protected by double galvanized steel wire armour in its deepwater section. No offshore joints will be required as the cable will be armoured and delivered in a single length. Nexans will also supply 2x240km of fiber-optic cable.