Prysmian is undertaking with Brazilian Eletrosul a new submarine power link, connecting the Island of Florianopolis to the Brazilian Mainland

Prysmian Cables & Systems, a world leader in the energy and telecommunications cables industry, is undertaking a new submarine power link in Brazil, representing a mile-stone and pioneer project in South America, due to the severe environmental concerns related to the unique and valuable characteristics of the involved area. The new submarine power cable will connect the Brazilian mainland with the island of Florianópolis, answering the growing energy needs of the island.

To assure that the peculiar natural characteristics of the region’s fauna and flora will not suffer from the installation of the submarine cables, Prysmian, together with Eletrosul, performed detailed studies to assess possible changes to the original environment, strictly necessary for installing the line. These studies foresee reconstitutions to preserve or replant the local vegetation. Prysmian will perform its work while seeking to avoid any alteration to the works’ surrounding environment. In order to make sure that the work will not cause any damage to marine populations, a team of Eletrosul’s environmental department will also monitor the installation of the cables when they are launched and buried in the seabed.

Prysmian will supply the complete submarine interconnection system in three continuous 230kV cable segments – of 4,500 meters each, totaling more than 13 km – benefiting the entire population on the island of Florianópolis, whose power network is currently fed from the continent through two 138kV circuits installed on the Colombo Salles Bridge. The new power interconnection will assure more reliability to the supply of electric power to Florianópolis, avoiding the recurrent risk of lack of power.

In addition to the 230kV cable circuit, Prysmian will supply a 24 optic fiber submarine cable for the project, which will be used for transmitting data from Eletrosul, connected to an OPGW cable (optical ground wire cable) at both ends. The power cable life span is expected to exceed 40 years, whereas no kind of preventive maintenance will be required during that period.

Prysmian is the leader in the High Voltage cable market in Brazil, having developed a significant part of the national power transmission and distribution network. This project is a unique opportunity being the first of this kind in South America. Prysmian in Brazil can leverage on its recognized worldwide expertise and track record in the development of special projects that require high degrees of technical knowledge for the implementation of transmission and distribution power cable systems.

Prysmain
The Prysmian group is a world leader in the energy and telecommunication cables industry, with a strong market position in higher-added value market segments. Organised into two business units, Energy Cables & Systems (submarine and terrestrial cables for electricity transmission and distribution) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical fibres and cables for video, data and voice transmission, and copper telecom cables), the Prysmian Group has a global presence with subsidiaries in 35 countries, 54 plants in 21 countries, 7 Research & Development Centres in Europe, the United States and South America, and more than 12,000 employees. Specialising in the development of products and systems designed to meet clients' specific requirements, Prysmian's main competitive strengths include its focus on research and development, its innovative products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange Blue Chip index.