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Hellenic Cables, a Greek supplier of submarine cable systems, has won a contract from Seaway 7, Subsea 7’s Renewable Energy business unit, to supply 66 kV inter-array cables and components for an offshore wind farm.

A press release said that the order is for the Seagreen Marine Wind Farm, is a 1.075 GW project located 27 km off the coast of Angus, Scotland, where it will be developed and operated by Seagreen Wind Energy Limited. When completed, it will be the largest wind farm in Scotland.

The contract calls for Hellenic Cables to design and produce approximately 320 km of 66 kV inter-array cables with XLPE insulation, as well as relevant components. The cables will be made in the company’s submarine cable production unit in Corinth. Delivery is set for early 2022.

“We are proud to support Seaway 7 in a project that will provide low carbon energy to around 1 million households and accelerate the energy transition in the U.K.,” said Hellenic Cables CEO Alexios Alexiou. Hellenic Cables is one of the largest producers of cables in Europe, manufacturing power and telecommunication cables as well as submarine cables for various industrial uses, such as submarine cables for wind power projects and interconnections, as well as turnkey power transmission and distribution projects.

In other news, earlier this year Hellenic Cables announced that it has reached an agreement with Enel Green Power that will allow all its electricity needs in Greece to be met by renewable energy sources. That would include its submarine cable factory in Corinth and its high-voltage cable factory in Thebes.

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.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper Products (Freeport), also known as Phelps Dodge, has decided to close its rod plant in Norwich, due to the downturn in business amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Per a report in The Day, a notice filed with the state Department of Labor by the plant’s manager, James Hodson, said that the plant expects to permanently lay off about 117 employees, beginning in August. About 90 employees will be laid off between Aug. 17 and Aug. 30, and the remaining employees, about 27, will be laid off during a sec-ond 14-day period following the first.

“Phelps-Dodge Industries Inc. has carefully reviewed our operations at our Norwich Plant in light of the dramatic downturn in business and economic uncertainty brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Hodson wrote in the filing with the state. “... we have taken a close look at our rod and refining operations to evaluate whether they are eco-nomically viable. After much careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to close the Norwich Plant.”

The story cited a company statement that said Freeport would “gain efficiencies” with two other rod mill operations in El Paso, Texas, and Miami, Arizona.

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.

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