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ENERGY INTERNATIONAL
February/March 2012 www.esb.ie/em
Cork Harbour submarine cable project successfully completed
ONE OF THE FIRST 220kV XLPE insulated submarine cable projects in the world has been successfully completed in Cork Harbour. Two new submarine cable circuits have been installed, namely the Aghada–Raffeen circuit, which is made up of 3.3km of submarine cable and 3.5km of underground cable (completed in 2010), and the Glanagow–Raffeen circuit, which comprises 4.6km of submarine cable, 7.4km of underground cable and a new 220kV GIS station at Glanagow (completed in 2011). The two circuits connect a total of 876MW of generating capacity, from ESB’s Aghada Generating Station and the Bord Gáis Whitegate plant, to the transmission grid. ESB International was responsible for cable design, engineering and route selection on the project.
Many challenges, from route selection stage to final testing, had to be overcome to deliver this important project. Cable route selection involved consultation with key stakeholders, including the Port of Cork and local fishing interests. Detailed hydrographical and geophysical surveys were carried out and foreshore licences were obtained by EirGrid for the submarine cables. The submarine cables for each circuit had to be produced in single continuous lengths without joints. Following factory testing, the cables were transported to Ireland for installation. Four cables were laid for each circuit, including a spare phase.
One particular challenge was that the cables had to be laid in shallow conditions where water depths were generally no more than six metres at high tide. This meant highly-customised cable-installation methods had to be developed, taking into account cable-laying vessel positioning, water depths, tides, currents, available daylight hours and foreshore licence conditions. Also, both submarine cable routes involved crossings of deeper channels over short distances, and as the Glanagow–Raffeen circuit crosses the main shipping channel, this crossing had to be done while maintaining ships’ access to the port. Following the cable laying, the cables were protected by embedding in the seabed to a depth of one to two metres using high pressure water jetting.
The substations element of the project involved the construction of a new 220kV GIS station in Glanagow which consisted of three feeder bays, one coupler bay and a double busbar arrangement with provision for three future feeder bays.
The following ESB International staff were involved in delivering this important project: Robert Donaghy, Mark Byrne, Pat O’Rourke, Robert Doyle and John Dillon of HV Cables; Metin Amet, Tommy Sheridan, Robert Scott and Donal Walsh of Civil & Structural; Roisin O’Donovan and Richard German of Environmental; Bernie Mullins of. HV Substations; Michael Toal of Automation & Telecoms and Joe Colleran of AMS Commissioning.
Thanks to the excellent cooperation between the project teams in ESB International, ESB Networks and EirGrid, this vital transmission reinforcement project was successfully and safely delivered.
ESBI Staff donation
ESBI and OMV/Petrom staff working on the Petro Brazi Power Plant project in Romania collected much needed funds for the Sisters of Mercy. The sisters provide a lot of support for the elderly, the sick and the needy in Bucharest. The donation will assist the Sisters to distribute food to the needy and to keep the local call-in centre running. Pictured are Damian Murray of ESB International with Sister Rose Carmel, Sisters of Charity, Romania.
Derrybrien Wind Farm achieves EMS Certification in record time
CERTIFICATION TO ISO14001 of ESB Energy International’s (ESBEI) Derrybrien Wind Farm operational Environmental Management System (EMS) was received in January 2012. Rose Walsh of ESB Interntational’s Environment Group began preparation of the necessary documentation in order to achieve EMS certification in October 2011. The EMS was then implemented on site by Joe Knight and Aidan Fagan of Wind Operations & Maintenance in November. “Achieving certification in such a short period of time is an excellent achievement by all those involved,” commented Tommy Bree, Manager, Environment Group. The system will be rolled out to all wind farms during 2012, completing the third party accredited certification of ESBEI’s operational wind farms.
Recently retired, Jack Farrell, named as the County Longford Person of the year for 2011
Jack Farrell was named as County Longford Person of the Year for 2011. Jack has a long association with Lanesborough Generating Station going back to the early days of Unit 1. He is a community activist all his life and is currently involved with Newtowncashel Tidy Towns Committee. He is present Chairperson of the Newtowncashel branch of County Longford Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability, and has been involved with the Branch for over 30 years. He has also been involved with his Parish organisations, such as G A A, Drama Group and the Pioneers Total Absence Association. In earlier times he ran in the Dublin City Marathon to raise funds for St. Christopher’s Services, Longford. In 1990 he was awarded ESB Community Spirit award in Lanesborough.
