Nexans Wraps Up Strait of Belle Isle Subsea Power Link

Nexans has completed the design, manufacture, supply and installation of subsea cable for Nalcor Energy’s Strait of Belle Isle Marine Cable Crossing in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

During the six-year project the company manufactured and installed approximately 100 km of subsea high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable and accessories for the Strait of Belle Isle Marine Cable Crossing.

The project, which now connects Labrador with the island of Newfoundland, reached its conclusion when Nexans delivered the final 2.3 km length of cable that will provide a spare ready for use, the company explained.

The 350 kV HVDC cables used for the project are based on Nexans’ mass-impregnated design. They include three lengths of submarine cables with an integrated fiber-optic element together with underground cables that were used for the land connections at either side of the strait. T

The subsea cables were installed in water depths of up to 110 m by Nexans’ own installation vessel, the C/S Nexans Skagerrak.

Peggy Aasheim, Nexans project manager for the Strait of Belle Isle project, said: “The Strait of Belle Isle project was a major operation that called on our highly skilled people in a wide range of areas and especially the marine and onshore installation. One of our greatest challenges in this remote area was the sea ice as well as dense fog and cold weather. It is a tribute to Nexans’ engineering and installation capability that the project has been completed safely and successfully.”

The spare cable is being stored on a spool held on the Corner Brook waterfront on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland.

The Strait of Belle Isle Marine Cable Crossing is a key element in the overall Lower Churchill Project, which includes construction of an 824 MW hydroelectric generating facility and more than 1,600 km of transmission lines across the province.

The 350 kV HVDC cables were manufactured by Nippon High Voltage Cable Corporation (NVC), Nexans’ facility in Tokyo, Japan.