wiredInUSA January 2019

A step closer to Energiewende

important breakthrough for Nexans at both the technology and commercial levels,” said Johannes Rothfeld, Nexans strategic account manager for German TSOs. Fiber diagnostics PacketLight Networks, a provider of DWDM and optical fiber networking products, has introduced its PL-1000D fiber optic diagnostic solution, a single device for consistent monitoring of signal quality and network faults. Delivering non-intrusive network visibility, the PL-1000D provides carriers, dark fiber providers and enterprises with a strategic asset for real-time network diagnostics and improved service level agreements (SLAs). The solution offers an optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) and an optical spectrum analyzer (OSA) integrated into a 1U box for minimal rack space. To maintain secure networks PL-1000D detects changes in the fiber characteristics, such as tapping, and works in combination with embedded layer-1 encryption to protect data across the fiber. “The PL-1000Dwas developedas a response to high demand from our customers wanting a cost-effective solution for better network visibility and accurate monitoring of fiber signal and faults,” said Koby Reshef, CEO of PacketLight Networks. “We responded by delivering one device with

Germany’s Energiewende, the transition in energy policy to focus on renewable sources of energy, is presenting significant challenges for the country’s transmission grid. In particular, Germany’s transmission systems operators must transmit huge amounts of renewable energy over long distances from the north to demand centers in the the south, and are building some of the world’s longest underground cable projects. Nexans has responded to the challenge by qualifying its HVDC cable systems for the German TSOs for operation at 525kV, a major voltage increase that enables them to carry more power than previous industry-standard cables. Nexans has developed an HVDC cable system, based on a triple extruded cross- linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation design, to operate at 525kV, with a power rating of 2GW. In a one-year test program under installation conditions, the Nexans HVDC cable system is said to have demonstrated “reliability and performance”. Deploying the 525kV cable will enable the TSOs to transmit far more power with a cable of the same cross-section. In some projects this could eliminate the need to construct an additional circuit, resulting in savings on cable infrastructure and civil works as well as reducing the installation footprint.

“Qualification of our 525kV HVDC cable systems with Germany’s TSOs is an

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wiredInUSA - January 2019