Nexans has connected Italy’s Sardinia and Sicily via a 480-kilometer-long cable as part of the Tyrrhenian Link, described as one of the country’s most significant electrical infrastructures.
The 970-kilometer, 1,000 MW interconnector encompasses two sections: the west part, connecting Sicily and Sardinia, as well as the east one from Sicily to Campania.
Nexans started laying high-voltage subsea cable between Sicily and Sardinia in September as part of the western section of the project, stretching for 480 kilometers between the Fiumetorto landing point, Palermo, and the Terra Mala landing point, Cagliari.
The cable-laying done by Nexans Aurora was divided into two phases, with the first, 200 kilometers long, completed in September, and the second, around 280 kilometers long, kicked off in December.
With the final pull-in operation completed in early January, Sardinia and Sicily are now physically connected and all subsea cable laying activities on the western section are done, the French company reported.
Before the New Year, Nexans reported that it had set a new world record by installing a 500 kV HVDC power cable at a depth of 2,150 meters as part of the interconnection.