Prysmian secured the INELFE project contract, valued at over €90 million, at the end of 2010, following its award by the joint venture equally owned by the Spanish utility Red Eléctrica España (REE) and the French company Réseau de Transport d'Électricité (RTE).
The project consists of a turnkey extruded ±320 kV HVDC underground cable system, encompassing the engineering, production, and installation of two 1000 MW bipolar circuits along a 64 km overland route (the 8.6 km crossing the Pyrenees will be housed in a specially constructed tunnel) between the Baixas substation (near Perpignan, France) and the Santa Llogaia substation (near Figueres, Spain). The entire 252 km of cable was manufactured in Gron, France, one of the Group's centers of excellence for extra-high voltage cables. Specially optimized production lines and handling systems were used, enabling the production of extra-long reels (approximately twice the industry average) and thus significantly reducing overall project time and risks.
This major project marks several notable milestones, as it is the highest rated power (2 GW) and highest voltage (±320 kV) complete overland cable system ready for operation. Classified as a priority project by the European Union, this line has been built to substantially increase energy exchange capacity between France and Spain, thereby improving diversification of energy sources and security of supply, as well as the integration of the electricity market in southwestern Europe. For Spain in particular, this project will result in a more stable supply network, facilitating the use of renewable energy.
The completion of this major project reaffirms the Group's international leadership in HVDC grid connection projects. The Group also recently announced the commissioning and handover of the first and second offshore HVDC grid connections (BorWin2 and HelWin1). Two further offshore HVDC grid connection projects, SylWin1 and HelWin2, and one onshore HVDC connection, Skagerrak 4, are nearing completion and are expected to be operational during the first half of 2015. Prysmian is also currently deploying HVDC cable systems for the DolWin3 and BorWin3 projects.
In recent years, the Group has continued to develop a comprehensive range of state-of-the-art products for HVDC grid interconnections. These recent achievements underscore the Group's preeminent role in the development of HVDC cable transmission systems, its leading position in the commercial application of HVDC cable technology, and its ability to successfully execute highly complex turnkey projects.
*HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current)
