wiredInUSA May 2018

Joint-free development

World Bank energy funding

Hengtong High Voltage Submarine Cable Company has produced what is believed to be the world’s longest length of 500kV AC XLPE submarine power cable without factory joints. The 18.15km cable successfully passed its complete factory acceptance test in March. In recognition of its achievement in developing the manufacturing process, as well as the acceptance of the cable system for the customer, the management team of the cable manufacturing plant celebrated the milestone with its workers. The 500kV submarine cable will play a key role in a power transmission and transformation project in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province in China. The cable will facilitate the power interconnection between offshore installations at Ningbo (a coastal city in Zhejiang province) and Zhoushan. Li Ziwei, chairman of Hengtong High Voltage, spoke of the company’s pride in the achievement of its design teams in “overcoming important technical challenges.”

Bangladesh has secured $505 million in loans from the World Bank to expand the country’s overall power transmission network and provide renewable energy to rural areas. The first loan of $450 million will be for improvements to the power transmission system in Bangladesh’s eastern region. The related project will boost the reliability of power supply and reduce load shedding. The loan will also help provide new electricity connections to nearly 275,000 households and 16,000 agricultural consumers. The World Bank expects the project to include construction of a 230kV transmission line through greater Cumilla, as well as four short 132kV lines in Cumilla and Noakhali. The further loan of $55 million will be for increasing renewable energy across rural regions of the country, where grid electricity is difficult to reach. About ten million people living in remote villages, islands and shoals are expected to benefit from energy projects.

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wiredInUSA - May 2018