Prysmian Group has been named the preferred supplier of high-voltage direct-current cable systems for the SOO Green HVDC Link – a major transmission project linking the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) grid to PJM Interconnection and enabling renewable energy to be delivered to population centers from Chicago to the mid-Atlantic region.
Owned by investment funds managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Siemens Energy and Jingoli Power, the SOO Green HVDC Link is being developed by Direct Connect Development Co. LLC.
With a value of approximately $900 million, Prysmian Group will be providing ±525 kV class HVDC cable. The construction part of the project, currently under finalization, will be performed by Jingoli Power and will be added to the overall contract value. Prysmian will be responsible for the full turnkey contract.
The 350-mile-long project will require 700 miles of paired ±525 kV cross-linked polyethylene class cables installed underground, primarily along existing railroad rights-of-way connecting SOO Green’s converter station in northern Iowa to its Illinois converter station just west of Chicago.
“As can be seen recently in Texas and California, the U.S. must invest in its transmission infrastructure, and SOO Green’s underground rail co-location model is a game-changer that can be replicated nationwide to build a clean energy grid,” says Direct Connect CEO Trey Ward. “Our partnership with Prysmian provides us with best-in-class cable to build a highly reliable and climate-resilient transmission line.”
Cable production for the project is expected to start in 2023 in Prysmian’s Abbeville, S.C., facility.
