COMETA (abbreviation for COnexión MEditerránea Transporte Alta tensión; also known as the Majorca–Valencia interconnector and the Romulus project) is an undersea
electric power transmission
Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...
system between mainland
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and the island of
Majorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
. It connects
Morvedre near
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
and
Santa Ponsa
Santa Ponsa (Catalan and officially: ''Santa Ponça'') is a small town in the southwest of Mallorca. Located in the municipality of Calvià, it is 18 kilometres from the capital Palma.
History
It was believed that Santa Ponsa derived from a R ...
near
Palma de Mallorca
Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...
. The project was developed by
Red Electrica de España. The project aims were to connect the Balearic Islands with the Spanish peninsular grid, providing a better electrical supply to the two isolated Balearic grids.
History
On 26 September 2007, contracts between Red Electrica de España and the cable manufacturers
Nexans
Nexans S.A. is a global company in the cable and optical fiber industry headquartered in Paris, France.
The group is active in four main business areas: buildings and territories (construction, local infrastructure, smart cities / grids, e-mobil ...
and
Prysmian
Prysmian S.p.A. is an Italian company with headquarters in Milan, specialising in the production of electrical cable for use in the energy and telecom sectors and for optical fibres. Prysmian is present in North America with 23 plants, 48 in Eur ...
were signed.
[
][ On 9 October 2007, a contract with Siemens was signed for supplying two ]converter station
An HVDC converter station (or simply converter station) is a specialised type of substation which forms the terminal equipment for a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line.Arrillaga, Jos; High Voltage Direct Current Transmission, se ...
s.[
]
The laying of the first cable started on 13 January 2011 and the laying of the second cable started on 27 January 2011. The first cable was laid by the cable ship
A cable layer or cable ship is a deep-sea vessel designed and used to lay underwater cables for telecommunications, electric power transmission, military, or other purposes. Cable ships are distinguished by large cable sheaves for guiding cabl ...
''Giulio Verne'' and the second cable was laid by the cable ship ''Nexans Skagerrak''.[ Trenching was done by waterjet from the Multipurpose Supply Vessel (MPSV) ''Edda Fjord'' and dredger ''Argo I''.
COMETA became operational in early 2012, initially at reduced capacity then fully from August 2012. The total cost of the project was €375 million.][ During the first operational quarter, the Spanish grid operator estimated that the connection would mean 25 million €/year in savings, due to more efficient supply to the islands and less carbon rights.
It is planned to extend the connection to Ibiza and Formentera with a second underwater cable, (115 km) long and 800 m deep, operating at 132 kV AC.
]
Technical description
The cable was produced and laid by Prysmian Group and Nexans SA.bipolar
Bipolar may refer to:
Astronomy
* Bipolar nebula, a distinctive nebular formation
* Bipolar outflow, two continuous flows of gas from the poles of a star
Mathematics
* Bipolar coordinates, a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system
* Bipolar ...
high-voltage direct current
A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system (also called a power superhighway or an electrical superhighway) uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating curre ...
(HVDC) cables with a transmission capacity of 200 MW and an operating voltage of 250 kV of each, and a metal return cable. It has a total transmission capacity of 400 MW. The maximum depth of the submarine cable is . It is the second longest submarine power cable after NorNed
NorNed is a long high-voltage direct current submarine power cable between Feda in Norway and the seaport of Eemshaven in the Netherlands, which interconnects both countries' electrical grids. It was once the longest submarine power cable in the ...
and the second deepest after SAPEI
SAPEI, is a high-voltage direct current power transmission system that connects Sardinia with the Italian mainland. The submarine cable from Fiume Santo to Latina runs at below sea level in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the deepest submarine power c ...
.[ The submarine part of the cable is long and the land cable is long.][
] There are converter stations in Morvedre and Santa Ponsa, built by Siemens.
References
External links
*https://web.archive.org/web/20110720143801/http://www.ree.es/ingles/sala_prensa/web/inc/fichero.aspx?ruta=especiales%2Farchivos&fichero=0ym7r2b97o6r.pdf
*https://web.archive.org/web/20110323075652/http://www.ostensjo.no/ostensjo/web.nsf/Pages/EddaFjord
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cometa (Hvdc)
Electric power infrastructure in Spain
HVDC transmission lines
Energy infrastructure completed in 2012
2012 establishments in Spain