Nexans Makes Final Cable Delivery to Canada’s Strait of Belle Isle Subsea HVDC Power Link

• Nexans has successfully completed the delivery of the Strait of Belle Isle power link, which is part of the Lower Churchill project in Eastern Canada.
• The six-year project to create a 350 kV power link across the Strait of Belle Isle has been completed with the delivery of the spare length of cable.

Paris La Défense, May 14, 2018 - Nexans has completed a six-year project to design, manufacture, supply and install approximately 100 km of subsea high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable and accessories for Nalcor Energy’s Strait of Belle Isle Marine Cable Crossing in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. 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.

A masterwork of engineering and installation

The 350 kV HVDC cables used for the project are based on Nexans’ well-proven 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. The accessories comprise joints, spares and terminations. The subsea cables were installed in water depths of up to 110 m by Nexans’ own installation vessel, the C/S Nexans Skagerrak.

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.