Sumitomo Electric completes replacement of submarine cable in Alaska, USA

 

Sumitomo Electric a Ltd, in a release, said that it has safely installed a submarine cable into the Stikine Crossing via Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) in collaboration with its subsidiary, Sumitomo Electric USA, Inc., and various sub-contractors.

The project required the removal and discarding of one spare phase of an existing 138kV oil filled submarine power cable and the installation of a new circuit of three-core, double armoured, 69kV XLPE submarine cable in its place with ancillary equipment, accessories, and integrated communication fiber for a fully functional cable system in the Stikine crossing. This crossing is approximately 17,400 feet (5,300 m or 5.3 km) long and a maximum water depth of about 700 feet (215 m) between Vank Island and Woronkofski Island, southeast Alaska, U.S.A. This transmission line feeds the borough of Petersburg, AK.

 

This project was awarded to Sumitomo Electric through a competitive evaluation bidding process.  The subcontractors involved in the project were ITB Subsea Ltd., Westpark Electric Ltd., Tongass Engineering LLC., Canpac Marine Services, Inc., Terra Remote Sensing, Inc., Prime Engineering Ltd. and BAM, LLC.

 

In 2018 Sumitomo Electric, a leading high-voltage power cable manufacturer and EPC contractor for HVAC/HVDC submarine cables,  completed a similar project in relatively close waters for Orcas Power & Light Cooperative, Washington, U.S.A.

Upon commencement of the contract, Sumitomo Electric with its sound technical expertise, support by all its subcontractors and administrative backing of SEAPA, swiftly managed its project team to supply, install, test and commission this new AC 69kV XLPE three core submarine cable in under nine months, safely and successfully without incident.

The removal work and installation work were performed back-to-back in one single campaign during the summer of 2021, while the existing oil-filled cable transmission line was energized and in operation.

Also read: Sumitomo Electric To Supply 132kV Cable For UK Offshore Wind Farm

The success of this project holds great promise for the acceleration in the renewal of similar aging submarine transmission lines which are common on the West Coast of U.S., and Sumitomo Electric will continue to place strategic priority on capturing the demand of the U.S. submarine market which is expected to grow dramatically with the surge in offshore renewable power generation and HVDC bulk power transmission.

 

Both the photographs are actual project images, sourced from Sumitomo Electric