Prysmian Group installs power and data cables for US Silver Run project
The Silver Run Project brings power from New Jersey to Delaware, helping stabilize the entire grid in the North East of the US. Prysmian Group has installed submarine power cables between Hope Creek nuclear power plant substation and a new substation east of Odessa, Delaware, connected to two existing Red Lion overhead transmission lines. The upgraded link brings the region higher system reliability.
Prysmian designed and supplied over 33 km of 230 kV HVAC submarine power cables with 1,800 mm² cross-section, single wire copper armouring and XLPE insulation. Prysmian also took care of commissioning, all termination and testing activities, as well as the design and construction of transition towers at both ends of the cable route, in the Delaware River and in the Hope Creek power plant.
This project was particularly challenging, as cables needed be buried 8 metres below the river bed, to allow for future dredging of the canal, and installation methods had to be minimally invasive.
“We needed to install 7 EHV (extra high voltage) cables and 2 fibre optic submarine cables in the riverbed of the Delaware river,” explains Oliver Marrek, Senior Project Manager. “A major challenge was the fact that we needed to carry out the installation in very shallow water, outside navigation channel limits. In some areas, the river bottom was higher than the permitted channel depths. This made a burial depth in excess of than 8 metres necessary. However, Prysmian’s cable-laying vessel Ulisse achieved target burial depth with no issues, and was the perfect tool for this job! Using vertical injection technology, we managed to carry out the installation successfully while minimizing the environmental impact of the operations.”
Turnkey solutions
Turnkey solutions
“Further challenges included the fact that the river has continuous heavy traffic. Working with the cable type - a special design with copper armouring - also required some extra attention, along with the fact that this was the first EHV 230 kV project for NSW* at that time. Also, type testing needed to be performed. We also had to ensure we had sufficient production capacity for cabling and 21 factory joints.” All cables were produced at the Montereau plant (France), while the cable armouring was made in the Nordenham factory (Germany). Both facilities became part of the Group following the merger with General Cable.”
Silver Run Electric, LLC awarded the assignment, part of a €75 million project, to General Cable in 2016, before the merger with Prysmian Group. With the acquisition of General Cable, the Group also added the capability and services of Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke GmbH (NSW*) to its portfolio. This enables Prysmian Group to offer enhanced turnkey solutions for submarine projects. Cables are produced by NSW, installed by the group’s vessel fleet and managed by its project management team.
Focus on NSW
Focus on NSW
*NSW, one of the world’s leading companies in the field of submarine power and telecommunication cables, became part of Prysmian Group following the General Cable acquisition. Headquartered in Nordenham (Germany), a strategic location close to the North Sea, NSW can leverage on an enviable experience in developing and producing repeaterless and repeater fibre optic submarine cable systems & accessories for submarine networks; turnkey submarine power cable systems; repair and maintenance services to ensure optimal submarine network availability; offshore oil & energy systems for the offshore industry.