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wiredInUSA - November 2015
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INDEXAlstom has chosen Nexans cables
exclusively to power Brazil’s first modern
tramway, the Porto Maravilha tramway in
Rio de Janeiro. Nexans will manufacture
power, data and control cables for 32
trams.
The new tramway will connect areas
across Rio de Janeiro including the Porto
Maravilha region, the Central Station and
Santos Dumont airport, covering 28km
of the city. The line will receive no power
from overhead lines, but will be supplied
by a combination of a third rail and
recycled energy from braking stored in a
supercapacitor. It will be the first tramway
in the world to use this combination of
systems.
Tramway combination
The German cabinet has endorsed draft
law to give preference to high voltage
underground cabling instead of stringing
cables above ground. A total of 2,800km
of cables are to be laid by 2024.
Germany’s decision, in 2011, to abandon
nuclear power by 2022 relies on the
capability to transmit prolific wind and
solar-generated power from northern
Germany to the southern industrial regions
such as Stuttgart and Munich. A quarter
of Germany’s electricity currently comes
from wind, solar and biogas sources.
Segments of transmission cables are
already under construction or have
already been enlarged.
The cabinet’s decision follows bitter
resistance to overhead cabling. Cabinet
sources quoted by Reuters said the extra
costs of going underground were justified
because of costly legal resistance put up
by citizens’ groups. They have cited losses
in scenic values, and perceived health risks
associated with above-ground cables.
The economy ministry has estimated the
extra cost at between $3.3 billion and $9
billion.
Going underground