BPS replaces bioWAVE cable

 
BioPower Systems (BPS) has installed a new subsea cable at the bioWAVE wave project site near Port Fairy, Australia.

The newly installed electro-optical armored cable has replaced a previous cable that was damaged in 2016, and subsequently removed.

The cable is 1100 meters long, and contains power transmission conductors and fiber-optic lines for data transfer. It was procured from Western Australia, and is able to transmit AC electricity at 3.3kV, BPS informed.

The cable is encased in a triple-wound galvanized steel wire armor, and housed within an articulated iron pipe system.

The multi-stage installation procedure involved laying out the cable on the beach, fitting the iron pipe sections to the cable, then attaching flotation units, and launching the cable into the lagoon at Taylors Bay, BPS said.

The entire cable length was temporarily moored in the lagoon before being towed out across the reef and sunk into position.

BPS is now awaiting suitable weather to make the remaining connections and to complete the commissioning of the bioWAVE wave energy device installed in 2015.

bioWAVE is a 26 meters tall oscillating structure designed to sway back-and-forth beneath the ocean swell. This oscillating motion activates opposing hydraulic cylinders, and the pressurized hydraulic fluid spins a 250kW generator to produce electricity.