LS

Images: 1. Shipment of submarine cables at Donghae Port near Donghae Business Site, Gangwon-do

■ Turnkey contract from KEPCO for 232.4 billion won of HVDC submarine cables
■ Largest submarine cable project in Korea since 2009

On December 17, LS Cable & System (President & CEO Roe-hyun Myung) announced that it had won the ‘Jeju 3-connection submarine cable construction project’ of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) with a bid of 232.4 billion won. 

This is the largest submarine cable project in Korea following the ‘Jeju 2-connection submarine cable construction project’ completed in 2009.

With this project, scheduled to be completed in 2023, LS Cable & System will be connecting the 90km distance between Wando in Jeollanam-do and Jeju-do with HVDC (high voltage direct current) cables. LS Cable & System will be fully responsible for the project from the production of submarine cables to construction of all ancillary facilities. 

Submarine cables will be routed in two lines to respond to the increase in Jeju’s electricity demand for reliable power supply, and at the same time it can transmit renewable energy generated on Jeju-do to the shore.

Unlike AC cables, HVDC (high voltage direct current) cables do not generate electromagnetic waves, and can also minimize environmental damage.

An international competitive bidding was held to select the contractor with LS Cable & System being the final winner. After four failures in bidding, LS Cable & System was finally selected through technical evaluation and other factors. Currently, there are only five companies in the world that can build such a system on a turnkey basis, and LS Cable & System is the only company in Korea with such capability.

President & CEO Roe-hyun Myung said, “When participating in this project, we not only considered the business results, but our responsibility for building-out the national power grid infrastructure as well. We will complete this project successfully, with a strong sense of duty.”

As countries around the world strengthen their renewable energy policies, LS Cable & System will be expanding its investments in such technologies by, for example, constructing specialized HVDC factories in Donghae-si, Gangwon-do in 2021. The company also expects that it will contribute to the development of the regional economy and employment through expanding local investment. 

During this past year, LS Cable & System has won significant projects in the United States, Middle East and Europe, and, significantly, has entered into a long-term supply agreement with Orsted, the world’s leading submarine cable operator. In 2009, LS Cable & System entered the submarine cable industry that previously was entirely dependent on imports. Within 10 years the company established itself as a global supplier by achieving technology independence.

[Reference]
1) Local HVDC submarine cable management status

2) History of submarine cables 
2007  Development of HVDC submarine cables 
2009    Completion of submarine cable plant in Donghae-si, Gangwon-do
2020    Completion of second submarine cable plant in Donghae-si, Gangwon-do

2009    Korea: Turnkey contract for second submarine cable project connecting Jeju Island with the peninsula (first company in Korea to win international bid for submarine cables) 
2012    Middle East: Turnkey submarine cable supply contract for Qatar Petroleum (435 million dollars)
2013    Europe: Submarine cable supply contract with Orsted (former DONG Energy) for UK wind power complex
2013    Latin America: Turnkey submarine cable supply contract for Venezuela Energy Corporation (Approx. 200 million dollars)
2016    United States: Turnkey submarine cable supply contract for the Block Island Wind Farm (first offshore wind power complex in North America)
2019    Asia: Submarine cable supply contract for first offshore wind power business in Taiwan (Total 500 billion won in scale)
2020    Europe: Turnkey submarine cable supply contract with TenneT, Netherland’s state-owned power company (174 million Euro)
         Long-term supply contract with Orsted, global leader of offshore wind power 

Images:  2. Deion of submarine cable construction project for Jeju connection