WIRES BENEATH THE WATERS

Submarine Electricity Transmission; HVDC and HVAC Submarine Power Cables: Supply Constraints, Demand Drivers, Technology Issues, Prominent Projects, Key Industry Players, and Global Market Forecasts

3Q 2012 (Pike Research/Navigant)

“…Demand for submarine cables is growing steadily as national governments and regional organizations pledge their efforts to expanding offshore renewable power generation, linking remote land masses, and interconnecting their national grids. These projects often involve subsea connections or power generation that is found in offshore wind farms. As cable technology advances, more projects are proposed that require longer, deeper, and higher-capacity cables.

“…[Purchasers and developers have proposed installing an additional 6,800 km of high-voltage submarine cables in almost 70 new projects around the world between 2012 and 2016. This is 3,200 km more than what was constructed during the previous 5-year period. This growth will be impossible to realize using only the current, already strained, channels of supply]…”

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“…Pike Research’s analysis finds that the supply chain will not be capable of meeting the full demand in this growing market. While there are very few companies that are capable of performing each step in the installation process, from surveying to final installation, the tightest bottleneck in this already constrained supply chain is the cable manufacturers…

“[Cable deployments are trending toward HVDC technology because of advancements in HVDC cables and equipment, while allowing the cables to handle longer distances, higher voltages, and deeper routes than the HVAC cables.]…Only a handful of companies are capable of building the complex cables that are required…[To meet the demand] cable manufacturers will need to increase their production significantly. While some projects will likely encounter delays due to the limited supply chain, additional market players and increased capacity by existing suppliers will help the industry begin to catch up…”

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