Omnisens gets cable monitoring work for Nemo Link

Switzerland-based Omnisens has been selected to provide a cable monitoring system for the Nemo Link interconnector.

Omnisens will deploy the long-range distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) technology on the 1GW interconnector between the UK and Belgium.

Cobra, Omnisens’ power cable monitoring solution, features two DAS instruments, one in Richborough, UK, and one in Herdersburg, Belgium.

It covers a total distance of 154 kilometres of fiber length with no dead zone, the company said.

The system will enable monitoring and localizing cable faults on the interconnector as well as third-party intrusion on land sections, potential threads coming from fishing activities and anchor drags, and cable maintenance operations.

“After our recent delivery of the longest distributed temperature sensing (DTS) cable monitoring system ever installed for Crete-Peloponnese, Omnisens’ deployment on Nemo Link represents another breakthrough with the longest subsea interconnector fully monitored with DAS”, said Matthieu Currat, CEO of Omnisens.

To remind, the Nemo Link interconnector is the result of a joint venture between National Grid Interconnector, a subsidiary company of the UK’s National Grid, and Elia group.

Upon commissioning on 31 January 2019, electricity was able to travel in both directions, ensuring greater exchange options and flexibility for the Belgian and UK electricity markets.