Neptune Regional Transmission System
- Size: 660-MW
- Professional Services: Engineering, Marine and Aquatic Resources Analysis, Modeling, Permitting, Monitoring and Compliance, Planning and Siting
- Project Components: Brownfields, Converter Stations, High-Voltage Direct Current Cable
- Project Type: Energy, Power Delivery, Submarine Cable Transmission
- Related Projects: Energy, Renewable Energy
When it needed a diverse, competitively priced electric power source, the Long Island Power Authority picked the Neptune Regional Transmission System, a 660-megawatt high-voltage direct current cable project. About 50 miles of the 65-mile cable—the first of its kind between New Jersey and New York—would be underwater, buried more than a foot into the Atlantic Ocean floor. Neptune would be the East Coast's longest submarine cable, carrying enough energy from the vast Pennsylvania-Jersey-Maryland grid to power 660,000 Long Island homes.
We were retained for civil engineering and assessments required for the final route design. We developed a multi-agency work plan to coordinate delivery and installation of cable reels, some weighing as much as 120,000 pounds. Less than a quarter of the cable's length runs over land, with most cutting across the New York-New Jersey Harbor. Our knowledge of water quality and seafloor data of the area helped to identify the most feasible routes. We developed a three-dimensional model, MIKE3, to predict sediment suspension and gauge the impact of the cable on water quality to secure permits from federal, state and civic agencies, including those concerned about commercially valuable shellfish beds.
Awards
- 2007 - Diamond Award, Engineering Excellence Awards, American Council of Engineering Companies, New York