Stikine Crossing Submarine Cable Contract
Sumitomo Electric Industries (SEI), working throughย Sumitomo Electric USA, has won theย Stikine Crossing Submarine Cable Replacement Projectย fromย Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA). Thisย Sumitomo Electric Stikine Crossing submarine cableย contract further strengthens SEIโs presence in North Americaโs power grid renewal market.
The project removes the existingย 138 kV oilโfilled (OF) submarine power cableย and disposes of it safely. In its place, SEI will install aย 69 kV XLPE (crossโlinked polyethylene) submarine cableย and all required ancillary equipment. The new system will span aboutย 16,700 feetย betweenย Vankย andย Woronkofski Islandsย nearย Wrangell, Alaska. In 2018, SEI delivered a similar replacement forย Orcas Power & Light Cooperativeย in Washington, so the team already understands local conditions.
Throughout execution, SEI plans to keepย quality and safetyย as top priorities. At the same time, the company will refine each project step so it can build more expertise and capture additionalย U.S. power grid renewal projects, which should increase as utilities upgrade aging infrastructure.
525 kV DC Cable and DC GIS Technology Progress
Beyond the Stikine Crossing work, SEI has also passed an approval test for itsย 525 kV DC cable systemย with aย DC gasโinsulated switchgear (DC GIS) interface, followingย CIGRE TB496. This qualification occurred in partnership withย Siemens Energyย and German cable producerย Sรผdkabel.
DC GIS technology offers a compact way to linkย HVDC cable linesย to offshore converter platforms and onshore transition stations. During testing, Sรผdkabel suppliedย DC XLPE cableย made withย Sumitomo Electric DC XLPE compoundย and connected it to SEIโs XLPE cable and joints. The results showed strong compatibility and reliable performance at very high DC voltages, which supports future offshore and onshore HVDC projects.
