Nexans has signed a €2.1 million contract with Coptech to deliver 206 km of fire-retardant power cables for the new flue gas desulfurization unit at Serbia’s 1,560 megawatt (MW) Nikola Tesla A coal-fired power plant.

A press release said that the project is part of the Serbian government’s pledge to invest €14 billion in boosting the country’s economy, including the development of its power generation sector. All the cables for the Nikola Tesla A project are fire retardant power cables according to IEC 60332-3-24 CAT C. The LV cables feature cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation. Both the MV and LV cables will be manufactured at Nexans’ Denizli factory in Turkey. The first deliveries will be in 2020, with final deliveries in 2021 when the flue gas desulfurization unit is scheduled to come online.

Nikola Tesla A is part of the Termoelektrane Nikola Tesla (TENT) power generation complex in Obrenovac, a municipality of Belgrade, Serbia’s capital city. The addition of the flue gas desulfurization unit is a key step in achieving a major reduction in sulfur dioxide and particulates emissions from the plant to enable it to meet stringent EU environmental standards.

“Nexans Turkey, which will manufacture the cables, has worked closely with its strong local partnerships to deliver high-quality cables during this difficult period,” said Nexans Romania General Manager Dumitru Sirbu. “We are excited by the prospect of making an important contribution to the power generation sector.”

“Once again, we are proud to be working with Nexans on such an important project,” said Coptech General Manager Aleksandar Stankovic. “Their expertise in the power generation sector will be invaluable.

NKT has won a contract worth approximately €235 million to deliver and install a high-voltage DC (direct current) interconnector for SSEN Transmission’s Shetland HVDC Link project.

A press release said that the turnkey order calls for some 2 x 260 km of 320 kV high-voltage DC on- and offshore power cables. The power cables will be manufactured in Karlskrona, Sweden, with expected production to start in 2021, with commissioning in 2024, with installation done by the cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria.

“I am very pleased that we are selected as partner for the Shetland HVDC Link, which will provide a sustainable grid connection to Shetland and renewable energy supply from the island,” said NKT President and CEO Alexander Kara. “With this opportunity we continue our good relationship with SSEN Transmission, with whom we also successfully completed the Caithness-Moray Link, connecting Eastern and Northern Scotland.”

The Shetland HVDC Link will be the first transmission connection between the Scottish mainland and the island of Shetland, located off the northeast coast of Scotland. The link will facilitate the connection of renewable energy generation to the main Great Britain electricity system.

NKT notes that it is part of the green solution as it is providing power cables in a plant running on 100% green electricity. It added that the NKT Victoria is the industry’s most sustainable cable-laying vessel, running on power from the quay-side when in harbor.

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) determined that there is a reasonable indication that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of prestressed concrete steel wire strand.

A press release said that imports of prestressed concrete steel wire strand in the U.S. from Argentina, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and United Arab Emirates that are allegedly sold in the United States at less than fair value.

As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determinations, the U.S. Department of Commerce will continue with its antidumping and countervailing duty investigations concerning imports of this product from Argentina, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and United Arab Emirates, with its preliminary countervailing duty determination due on or about July 10, 2020, and its antidumping duty determinations due on or about September 23, 2020.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) determined that revoking the existing antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders on imports of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from China would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time.

A press release said that due to the finding, the existing AD and CV duty orders on imports of this product from China will remain in place. For the wire rod, the AD rates were 106.19% for eight exporters/producers, and 110.25% for six other manufacturers. The investigation was done under the five-year (sunset) review process required by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.