Prysmian Group, the pioneer in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, signed a capacity reservation agreement for a fee of up to €90 million with Marinus Link Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the Australian TSO TasNetworks, for a new power interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria, Australia.
The agreement includes Commonwealth Government underwriting a capacity reservation fee of up to €90 million and Prysmian Group’s continued capacity availability until the execution of the final contract within July 2024.
Efficient transfer of power
With an overall capacity of 750 MW, the power link will facilitate the flow of electricity between the two states, enabling an efficient transfer of power from the areas where renewable energy is generated to those where it is needed, and will help Australia meet its emissions reduction targets by saving up to 70 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2050. The contract will be negotiated and is expected to be finalized within 2024.
Prysmian Group has reserved the capacity to design, test, supply and install an HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) Cable System, consisting of 320 kV single-core cables with XLPE insulation and single-wire armoring, covering both submarine and land sections. The submarine connection will be approximately 255 km long, from Northwest Tasmania to Waratah Bay, Victoria, while the underground cable will run for approximately 90 km reaching the Latrobe Valley, Victoria. The link will include a stand-alone submarine fiber optic cable of 255 km.
Permanent monitoring system
The capacity to manufacture the submarine cable has been reserved at Prysmian Group’s center of excellence
The capacity to manufacture the submarine cable has been reserved at Prysmian Group’s center of excellence in Arco Felice (Italy), while for the land cables has been reserved in Delft (The Netherlands) or Gron (France). The capacity for the installation operations has been reserved with Prysmian Group’s record-setting cable-laying vessel, the Leonardo da Vinci.
Under the Marinus Link project, Prysmian Group is expected to also provide a fully integrated PRY-CAM permanent monitoring system. All cables will be constantly monitored using the PRY-CAM innovative solutions like Distributed Temperature (DTS) and Acoustic Sensing (DAS) to measure all key operating parameters of the whole cable system.
Fast-growing renewables market
“This new project is a step towards strengthening our market position and global footprint in Oceania's fast-growing renewables market,” stated H. Ozmen, EVP Projects BU. “We are proud to support Tasmania in its goal to combine the benefits of renewable energy to deliver low-cost, reliable and clean energy to customers and build the confidence of emerging industries in power supply reliability leading them to invest in Australia.”
“This capacity reservation agreement has a strategic importance for Prysmian as it underlines our global leadership and strengthens our regional presence in Oceania as a major supplier of an extensive range of high-tech products to power utilities. Australia represents a major market for the Group, with a number of projects under development,” added Detlev Waimann, Chief Commercial Officer Projects BU, Prysmian Group.
