PLOCAN has published the public tender for the construction and putting into service of the marine and terrestrial Electrical and Communications Infrastructure (IECOM) to operate in the PLOCAN Test Site.

The competition is called with a fixed price, with variations accepted, with a total base tender budget of 3.5 million euros, and includes the use of an underwater vehicle for the oversight of the work to be carried out in the sea.

The Electrical and Communications Infrastructure for the Evacuation of the offshore energy generated will consist of medium voltage 13.2 kV cabling with a maximum capacity of 15 MW. This will be for the most part underwater, comprising hybrid cabling, with copper cables for the transmission of electrical power and fibre optics for data and images, hybrid connectors, and including a short terrestrial section to connect to the electrical substation on land.

Last August, the Town Hall of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, EMALSA and PLOCAN signed a collaboration agreement for the development of the IECOM for the evacuation of electrical energy generated in the Test Site at the oceanic platform to an electrical substation owned by EMALSA, through the temporary assignment of the use of the existing electrical infrastructure at Piedra Santa in Jinámar.

Marine renewable energy is a potential source of energy that may contribute to a reduction in the dependence on fossil fuels in the current energy mix.

The PLOCAN Test Site, which occupies an area of 23 square kilometres of the coastal strip between Piedra Santa and Taliarte on the north-eastern coast of Gran Canaria, is considered essential for the successful development of these technologies, given that it is the only way to test under real, operational and extreme conditions the behaviour of the electrical systems involved. Since these technologies generate electricity from primary energy, marine electrical infrastructure connected to the transmission network is required to evacuate the offshore energy generated during the tests of new marine generation technologies.

PLOCAN is a Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure for research, development and innovation in the field of marine science and technology. It is financed and managed by a consortium comprising 50% contributions from the Government of the Canary Islands and from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. This action is susceptible to be funded by the European Regional Development Fund.