NKT has been awarded a long-term frame agreement by French grid operator RTE for underground cable systems to modernise the French power grid and support renewables integration.
The agreement runs until 2023 and spans the supply of 90kV and 225kV high-voltage (AC) XLPE underground power cable systems, plus installation of accessories such as joints and terminations.
The contract also has an option to extend for one more year.
“We are pleased to reinforce our collaboration with RTE to jointly support the French and European energy policy aiming for carbon-neutrality by 2050,” said NKT president and CEO Alexander Kara.
The agreement builds upon a decade of “successful collaboration”, said NKT.
NKT is currently supporting RTE by executing a 225kV high-voltage retrofitting power cable project in Marseille.
Here, aged cables installed in steel pipes are being replaced with new special armoured extruded XLPE type cables.
The techniques used allow the pulling of the new cables to be done with limited requirement for civil works, thus reducing the environmental impact.
The power cables provided for both the retrofitting project and the new frame agreement will be made in NKT’s high-voltage factory in Cologne, Germany, which is running on 100% green electricity.