Red Eléctrica de España has awarded Nexans a contract worth around EUR 50 million to manufacture and install a power cable that will connect the islands of Majorca and Menorca in Spain.
The contract was signed after the Spanish Council of Ministers granted administrative authorization and declared it as a public utility project. The interconnection is due to be up and running in 2020, Nexans informed.
“We have streamlined all the necessary procedures to shorten the deadlines as much as possible and have a new cable functioning in the shortest time span, taking into account the complexity of the tender. In this sense and prior to the approval by the Council of Ministers, we had been working for months to advance in all the previous and essential steps to carry out the tender,” said Eva Pagán Red Eléctrica’s general director of transport.
Nexans’ scope of work covers engineering, design, supply, installation and testing of the interconnection.
“We are thrilled to bring our expertise to Red Eléctrica, building on Nexans’ long track record of successful power interconnector projects, including the recent NordLink project between Norway and Germany or the MonIta project between Montenegro and Italy. By delivering a power interconnector between Majorca and Menorca, Nexans will bring security of supply, improving renewable integration and enhancing efficiency for both islands,” said Ragnhild Katteland, Nexans vice president subsea and land systems.
The new underground and submarine 132 kV power cables, which will link up Majorca and Menorca, will be 68 kilometers in length and will be laid on the seabed at a maximum depth of 81 meters.
The interconnection global project between Majorca and Menorca, which represents a total investment of EUR 84 million, will strengthen the security and quality of supply on both islands and will allow greater integration of renewable energy under safe conditions for the system and a greater efficiency of the interconnected systems, the company explained.
The subsea cable will be manufactured by Nexans Norway in its Halden facility while the underground cable will be produced by Nexans Benelux in Charleroi, Belgium. The fiber optic element will be delivered by Nexans Norway’s specialized unit in Rognan.
The installation of the interconnector will be carried out using the specialized cable laying vessel, C/S Nexans Skagerrak.