Cometa (HVDC)
| Cometa | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Spain |
| From | Morvedre 39°38′28″N 0°14′7″W / 39.64111°N 0.23528°W |
| To | Santa Ponsa 39°32′2″N 2°30′21″E / 39.53389°N 2.50583°E |
| Ownership information | |
| Owner | Red Eléctrica de España |
| Construction information | |
| Manufacturer of conductor/cable |
Prysmian Nexans |
| Installer of conductor/cable |
Prysmian Nexans |
| Cable layer |
C/S Giulio Verne C/S Nexans Skagerrak |
| Manufacturer of substations | Siemens |
| Commissioned | 2011 (expected) |
| Technical information | |
| Type | submarine cable |
| Type of current | HVDC |
| Total length | 247 km (153 mi) |
| Power rating | 400 MW |
| AC Voltage | 230 kV |
| DC Voltage | 250 kV |
| Number of poles | 2 |
COMETA (abbreviation for COnexión MEditerránea Transporte Alta tensión; also known as the Majorca–Valencia interconnector and the Romulus project) is an undersea electric power transmission system being constructed between mainland Spain and the island of Majorca. It will connect Morvedre near Valencia and Santa Ponsa near Palma de Mallorca. The project is developed by Red Electrica de España. The project aims were to connect the Baleric Islands with the Spanish peninsular grid, providing a better electrical supply to the two isolated Balearic grids.
History
On 26 September 2007, contracts between Red Electrica de España and the cable manufacturers Nexans and Prysmian were signed.[1][2] On 9 October 2007, a contract with Siemens was signed for supplying two converter stations.[3]
The laying of the first cable started on 13 January 2011 and the laying of the second cable started on 27 January 2011. The first cable was laid by the cable ship Giulio Verne and the second cable was laid by the cable ship Nexans Skagerrak.[4] Trenching was done by waterjet from the MPSV "Edda Fjord",the worlds biggest MPSV when she was built in 2002 and "Argo 1".
Technical description
The cable is produced and laid by Prysmian and Nexans.[4] The system consists of two bipolar high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables with a capacity of 200 MW and an operating voltage of 250 kV of each, and a metal return cable. It has a total transmission capacity of 400 MW. The maximum depth of the submarine cable will be 1,485 metres (4,872 ft). It is the second longest submarine power cable after NorNed and the second deepest after SAPEI.[4] The submarine part of the cable is 240 kilometres (149 mi) long and the land cable is 7 kilometres (4 mi) long.[2] There are converter stations in Morvedre and Santa Ponsa, built by Siemens.
COMETA was scheduled to become operational in 2011. The total cost of the project is €375 million.[4] The project finally became operational in early 2012, but became fully operational in August 2012. Until then, it worked below maximum capacity for security reasons. During the first operational quarter, the Spanish grid operator estimated that the connection would mean 25 million €/year in savings, due to the more efficient supply to the islands and less carbon rights.
The project will be maximised by the planned connection to Ibiza - Formentera. This second cable will be the world's longest (115 km) and deepest (800 m) underwater electric connection carrying alternate current (132 kv). The cost will be 225 mill €.
References
- ↑ "Nexans wins 146 million euros order for high voltage submarine link between Spanish mainland and Balearic Islands" (Press release). Nexans. 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Prysmian to Build HVDC Submarine Link for Spain's REE". Transmission & Distribution World (Penton Media, Inc.). 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
- ↑ "Siemens connects Majorca to power grid on the Spanish mainland" (PDF) (Press release). Siemens. 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Nexans starts Majorca-Valencia interconnector submarine cable laying". Power-Gen Worldwide (PennWell Corporation). 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2011-01-30.