German-Italian Consortium Building New Power Link Between NYC and New Jersey
A consortium of Siemens Energy, a division of German-based Siemens AG (NYSE: SI), and Prysmian Cables & Systems, a division of Italy-based Prysmian SpA (Milan: PRY.MI), has won a $400 million turnkey contract to design, supply and install a HVDC (high-voltage direct-current) link to connect the power supply networks of New Jersey and New York, the companies announced today. Construction has begun and the link is scheduled to come on line in the summer of 2013.
The customer is Hudson Transmission Partners, LLC of Fairfield, Connecticut, a subsidiary of Powerbridge LLC. Powerbridge was the developer of the Neptune Project, ia 660-megawatt (MW) 500 kilovolt high-voltage, HVDC submarine electric transmission cable, completed in 2007, that connects power generation resources in the PJM regional grid system to electricity consumers on Long Island. Both Siemens and Prysmian worked on the Neptune Project.
Powerbridge says the 660 MW Hudson Transmission Project link will provide a new source of electric power for the New York City customers of the New York Power Authority, provide New York City with access to renewable resources throughout PJM, and also make significant upgrades and reinforcements to the transmission system in New Jersey.
Siemens' contribution includes the open- and closed-loop controls for the HVDC system, the thyristor valves, eight converter transformers and the AC filters, as well as operation and maintenance for five years.
Prysmian says it will install a bundle of three high voltage submarine cables and two optical fiber data transmission cables under a portion of the Hudson River using its own cable-laying ship, the Giulio Verne. The submarine cables will be produced at Prysmian’s Arco Felice, Italy, plant.The majority of the high voltage land cables will be produced at Prysmian’s new state-of-the-art VCV factory in Abbeville, South Carolina, and will be installed by Prysmian’s installation services group located in New Jersey. The Prysmian US content in the project will be completed by the supply and installation of land fiber cables produced in the Lexington Fiber Optic cabling facility.
Image credit: Siemens
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