The Italian electrical cable manufacturer Prysmian has won two contracts worth about 250 million euros of the operator Red Eléctrica de España, S.A.U. It is expected to provide cable installation solutions and services for two submarine interconnection projects for territories outside mainland Spain.
The two projects are submarine electrical interconnection between the island of Tenerife and La Gomera and the submarine interconnection between mainland Spain and Ceuta, in the north of Africa.
For the interconnection between the island of Tenerife and La Gomera, Prysmian will provide the design, the supply, the installation and commissioning of a three-core double-circuit AC high-voltage submarine cable. This cable under the sea will be insulated with EPR and shielded with synthetic thread.. The company says the cable will be laid to a depth of almost 1.150 metros.
Regarding the connection project of the Peninsular Spain with Ceuta through the Strait of Gibraltar, Prysmian will install a three-core high-voltage submarine power cable 132 kV. This submarine cable can reach a maximum depth of 900 metros. The two systems comprise 90 kilometers of submarine lines and some 11 kilometers of land power lines.
These two projects will allow the free transmission of renewable energy. Ceuta, in the north of Africa, totally dependent on electricity based on fossil fuels. And renewable energy from the Iberian Peninsula could help complement its electrical system.
According to the Ecoener SAU Group, a wind farm project launched a month ago on the island of La Gomera could supply electricity to the entire island. The authorities of La Gomera hope that the electrical connection will allow the export of more renewable energy to the larger island of Tenerife.
The submarine cables will be manufactured at the Norderham plant (Germany) and in that of Pikkala (Finland). These two plants are the Prysmian Group's centers of submarine cable manufacturing and technological excellence..
The terrestrial cables will be produced at the local plant in Vilanova (Spain). Offshore operations will be carried out by one of Prysmian's cable laying vessels, el Giulio Verne. Both cable systems are scheduled to enter service in 2025.