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Audio version

27

ENERGY INTERNATIONAL

June/July 2012 www.esb.ie/em


Submarine cable on route to Tanzania

image shows a group of men wearing protective blue coats and hard hats. They are all looking towards camera and behind them we can see a huge cable.
Pictured above at the Viscas Cable Works in Japan is Robert Donaghy along with representatives of Tanzania Electricity Supply Company and Zanzibar Electricity Corporation.

ESBI


ROBERT DONAGHY, OF ESB International, High Voltage, recently attended a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) for the 37km 132kV submarine cable that will be laid between Tanzania and Zanzibar. ESB International is consultant engineer and construction contract supervisor for the US$206m energy project in Tanzania on behalf of Millennium Challenge Account - Tanzania. As part of the project, ESB International are responsible for the project management of the construction of the new 132kV submarine cable. The cable is now en route from Tokyo to Mombasa in Kenya for loading onto the cable laying vessel and laying will commence in July.


ESB OCEAN ENERGY MEETS WITH TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPERS AT EMEC

image shows a large yellow turbine at port.
Tidal Generation’s tidal turbine at Kirkwall Harbour.

image shoes three men in life jackets smiling to camera
Pictured during their recent visit to the EMEC facility are (l-r): ESB Ocean Energy’s John Fitzgerald, Brendan Barry and Fergus Sharkey (Pelamis devices in background).

ESBI


Members of ESB’s Ocean Energy team visited the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) on the Orkney Islands, Scotland, in early May to meet with some of the WestWave project technology partners and to evaluate, first hand, the status of their technology demonstrator projects.

The team also took the opportunity to meet other technology developers in both wave and tidal sectors who are active at the EMEC site.

The EMEC test site was established in 2004 with the aim of providing the necessary infrastructure and facilities for the testing and demonstration of wave and tidal energy converters. It has expanded significantly since then and boasts seven grid-connected wave berths (five offshore and two nearshore) at Billia Croo, near Stromness and eight grid-connected tidal berths at the Falls of Warness, Eday Island. The site also contains some scale-testing facilities for early-stage technologies.

EMEC staff were on hand to arrange a tour of their facilities and provided updates on all site activities. At present, all berths, both wave and tidal, are either occupied or contracted, so it is a major hub of activity for the ocean energy sector.

ESB Ocean Energy held meetings with WestWave technology partners Aquamarine Power and Pelamis Wave Power, who are currently using the EMEC facilities. Pelamis Wave Power has been testing its 750kW machine for some months and will install a second machine this summer. Aquamarine Power is in the final stages of commissioning its Oyster 800 device, which will be operational in the coming weeks. While on site, the team also met with wave technology developers Wello Oy and Seatricity and tidal technology developers Tidal Generation and ScotRenewables.


For more information, see: www.emec.org.uk and www.westwave.ie


ESBI presents at Africa’s largest power conference

image shows a head and shoulders
ESB International Commercial Manager, Dr. Emma Silke.

ESBI


ESB INTERNATIONAL Commercial Manager, Dr. Emma Silke recently presented a paper at Power & Electricity World Africa, Africa’s largest power and energy event. The paper, Tanzania – Implementing Long-Term Solutions to Help Improve Power Distribution, outlined ESB International’s role in delivering a $206m energy project in Tanzania on behalf of the US-Funded Millennium Challenge Account – Tanzania (MCA-T).

The MCA-T Energy Project will significantly enhance the electricity infrastructure in Tanzania, where currently only 15% of the population has access to the electricity network. ESB International is consultant engineer and construction supervisor on the project.

At the Conference, Dr Silke said, “This project will directly impact on the lives of people across Tanzania who, up to now, have been dependent on costly standby diesel generators or who have had to go without electricity. Our job is to make sure that every penny counts. We need to make sure that the new infrastructure is safe, robust, can stand the test of time, that it is delivered on time and within budget, and that the local utilities TAN ESCO and ZECO have the skills and knowledge they need to manage and maintain the assets into the future.”


What lies beneath?

ESBI HV Cables joins with Irish Naval Services for an ROV Demonstration

image shows a u-boat that is submerged under water
A German U-boat seen with the ultra-high resolution multibeam echo sounder.

image shoes two men in protective gear. They ae smiling to camera.
Colin Choyce and Patrick O’Rourke of ESBI’s High Voltage team.

ESBI


SUNKEN U BOATS and archaeological ship wrecks are typically the last thing any subsea cable engineer wants to encounter offshore, however, when Patrick O’Rourke and Colin Choyce of ESB International headed offshore with the Irish Naval Services, they were on a mission of a different kind.

Moore Marine Services in conjunction with the Irish Naval Services, University of Limerick (UL) and NUI Galway (NUIG) collaborated to survey the wrecks of a UC42 World War I German U boat and the Rodger Casement vessel, the “Aud”. The exploration afforded ESBI High Voltage Cables staff an opportunity to witness a demonstration of the UL Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) “Latis” in operation, a prototype ROV which demonstrates some of the latest developments in ROV technology.

Once aboard the naval flag ship, the LÉ Eithne, the team was given a tour of the Naval Services ROV control room and a detailed presentation outlining the capability of the naval ROV Cherokee on board at the time.

Having reached the location of the wrecks, the Latis ROV was deployed and the operations crew from UL and NUIG demonstrated its full capability. Seabed bathymetry captured from the ultra high resolution multibeam echo sounder combined with a side scan sonar profiled the seabed wrecks in real time. Multiple backlit cameras captured video footage of the dive and provided visual guidance, where desired. The demonstration also provided insight into the latest advancements in Inertia Navigation and Ultra Short Base Line systems.

In the evening, en route to Haulbowline, the LÉ Eithne deployed anchor north of the recently installed Glanagow-Raffeen 220kV subsea cable circuit where the Latis ROV was lowered into the water to demonstrate its capability of seabed mapping along the route of the previously installed submarine cables. The demonstrations identified how technology advancements in ROV surveying will greatly benefit monitoring of subsea cable circuits.

“A special thanks to Moore Marine Services, the Irish Naval Services (Commanding Officer Stephen Walsh), UL and NUIG for their co-operation, excellent presentations and demonstrations. Accompanying the team on their explorations and being able to use the ROV to view the Glanagow-Raffeen subsea cable has provided us with excellent information which we will put to good use in the future,” commented Patrick O’Rourke.