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PRYSMIAN GROUP | DIRECTORS’ REPORT
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On 14 July, the Group was awarded a new contract worth around Euro 550 million for an
HVDC submarine
interconnector between Norway and Britain
.
The project, known as NSN (North Sea Network) Link, will be the first power transmission cable system to
connect these two nations; its construction is of great strategic importance for the trading of electricity
between the Norwegian and British grids and will also offer a way to share energy from renewable sources
and increase the security of electricity supply. The entire project will set a new record as the longest HVDC
submarine interconnector ever installed, following a route of about 740 km between the converter stations in
Kvilldal (Norway) and Blyth (Britain).
All cables will be produced at the Arco Felice plant (Naples, Italy). The main marine cable-laying operations
will be performed by the "Giulio Verne", one of the Group's cable-laying vessels.
In the same month, Prysmian was awarded a new contract for a power line between Jersey in the Channel
Islands and the French mainland.
The project, known as Normandie 1, involves the turnkey supply and installation of an
HVAC
(High Voltage
Alternating Current)
interconnector between France (Surville) and Jersey (Archirondel),
comprising 28
km of 90 kV 3-core cable in a single length as well as related network components and specialist jointing
works.
Prysmian will be responsible for design, manufacture and commissioning of submarine and underground
cables as part of a larger contract worth around Euro 28 million, awarded to the consortium between
Prysmian and VBMS; VBMS will perform the marine cable laying operations, including landfall protection.
The submarine power line will replace the existing and now obsolete Normandie 1 interconnector, while its
100 MW capacity will be shared by both Jersey and Guernsey under the CIEG (Channel Islands Electricity
Grid) partnership agreement, which is the vehicle through which the local utilities procure power from EDF in
France.
The submarine cables for the Normandie 1 link will be produced at the Arco Felice plant (Naples, Italy). The
project is due to be completed by October 2016.
On 5 August, Prysmian signed contracts with Nobelwind NV to supply inter-array cables for the Bligh Bank 2
offshore wind farm
located off the coast of Zeebrugge in Belgium. Prysmian will be responsible for the
design, manufacture and supply of 33 kV submarine cables with various cross-sections to connect the 55
individual wind turbines and the farm's Offshore High Voltage Substation (OHVS). In addition a 33 kV
coupling cable will be supplied to serve as a back-up connection between wind farms in this area. Prysmian
will also be responsible for offshore cable jointing and termination services as well as for commissioning.
Cables will be produced at Prysmian's plant in Drammen, Norway, with installation work due to be completed
during the first half of 2017.
On 26 October, the Group won a contract worth a total of more than USD 140 million from Hainan Second
Cross-Sea Interconnection Tie Project Management Co., Ltd. for the design, supply, installation, and
commissioning of a
submarine power line
for the second
interconnection between Hainan island and
the Chinese mainland
. The new submarine power line will complement the existing 500 kV circuit and