Justification
Q: How would the JDF Cable Project benefit the Pacific Northwest Region?
Renewable Energy Source Firming/Reinforcing
The energy output from many renewable energy resources, such as wind, tends to peak at different times in geographically disparate areas. By providing more and better interconnection between such areas, regional grids can mutually reinforce each other, allowing a higher penetration of renewable energy for both than either could achieve independently.
Reliability Enhancing/Economy Stimulating
Port Angeles and Victoria are each at the ends of radial transmission lines, making them more prone to electrical outages. By interconnecting the two systems, the JdF Cable Project will increase local reliability and add to the transmission capacity in the Olympic Peninsula and Vancouver Island areas.
The new connection effectively becomes a new Blaine Intertie between the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, allowing bi-directional energy exchange and stimulating economic development on both sides of the border.
Sea Breeze is committed to leaving construction areas in better condition than before construction began. Sea Breeze is very interested in collaborating with municipalities on infrastructure upgrades where they make sense.
Improving access to electricity markets for power producers would promote energy development in the region, which could promote job creation and provide new sources of revenue.
Environmentally Friendly/Socially Acceptable
Regional renewable energy producers could use the JdF Cable as an avenue to get electricity to the market. This would encourage and promote development of renewable resources on both sides of the border, benefiting residents of both Canada and the U.S. by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Light® is more environmentally benign than AC technology. The Cable will be sited, designed, constructed and operated in a manner that will avoid and minimize impacts to environmental and marine resources.
Economically Viable
HVDC Light® is an economically viable technology, as the aggregate cost of providing comparable benefits through use of AC overhead lines would be many multiples of the projected cost of the JdF Cable Project when all construction and regulatory permitting costs are included.
Shovel Ready/Easy to Implement
The JdF Cable Project is fully permitted on both sides of the border.
The JdF Cable Project will be constructed and in operation in 20 to 24 months from the point when the contracts and financing have been secured.
Electric and Magnetic Fields
Q: What is the difference between AC and DC?
The magnetic field surrounding a DC cable is constant,
much like that of the Earth’s own magnetic field.
“AC” stands for “Alternating
Current,” and “DC” for “Direct
Current”. DC current flows steadily in
a single direction. AC current continuously
switches direction, alternating between going "forwards" and
going "backwards”. If this repetition
occurs sixty times per second, then the “frequency” of
repetition is said to be 60 Hertz (cycles per second). Sixty
Hertz is the standard for North American utility companies.
DC power, since it does not vary repetitively, is said
to have zero frequency.
The flow of current in a cable creates a magnetic
field around that cable. Since the current in
DC systems is constant, and does not vary, the magnetic
field around the cable also is constant and unvarying. On
the other hand, the changing current in cables carrying
AC current creates a varying electromagnetic field
(EMF) around the AC cable.
This varying EMF in AC cables can induce electrical voltages and currents in nearby objects (including people and other organisms), which is thought by some to be harmful.
Q: Are EMFs emitted from the Juan de Fuca
Cable?
DC cables do not generate fluctuating EMFs. The static magnetic field surrounding a DC cable is weak, and the strength of the field falls off rapidly with distance from the cable.
The strength of magnetic fields is measured in units
of “Gauss". Naturally occurring magnetic fields, such as that of the Earth, are relatively weak and are measured in milli-Gauss (1 milliGauss is 1/1000 of a Gauss). In the Pacific Northwest, the Earth’s
magnetic field strength is roughly 570 milliGauss.
Since the JdF Cable will be buried to a depth of 1 to 2 metres (3 to 6 feet), the field strength for someone standing on the ground directly above it will be only slightly more than the Earth’s natural magnetic field. As their distance from the cable increases, the field strength falls off rapidly.
To put this field strength in perspective, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) has established protection guidelines for general, continuous, public exposure to static (DC) fields. Constant exposure of up to 400,000 milliGauss is considered safe by these guidelines, which is roughly 500 times the strength of the field that would be created by the Juan de Fuca Cable.
Q: Are there any safety issues for kids playing near
HVDC cables (either buried under streets or under a
multi-use trail)?
ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) health and safety guidelines allow continuous exposures to DC magnetic fields at levels up to 400,000 mG; children playing near the JdF Cable will experience a maximum momentary field strength of less than 1/500 of that amount.
Q: Q: Would it be safe to build a bike path/trail over the JdF Cable? People on the trail would be only 1 metre (3 feet) away from the cable, as opposed to a house that is 8-10 metres (24 to 30 feet) away.
The change to the Earth’s magnetic
field is too weak to be a health & safety issue. Even directly over the cables the MF will be 400-1000 times lower than exposure limits recommended by International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety (ICES). The cables would not significantly affect the existing magnetic field levels in houses along the proposed route.
High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC)
Q: Why Use HVDC Light®?
HVDC Light® is state-of-the-art power
transmission technology that is environmentally friendly,
and transmits power using underground and submarine
cables. It is particularly useful in today’s electrical networks where systems need to be flexible, allow for large variations and frequent changes in supply and demand, and meet tougher environmental regulations and community acceptance standards. HVDC Light® is manufactured by ABB Inc., one of the world’s largest and most successful electrical manufacturing and engineering companies.
Some environmental benefits include:
- Transmission of renewable energy resources.
- Static magnetic fields are virtually eliminated
since HVDC Light® cables
are laid in pairs with DC currents in opposite directions.
- No risk of oil spill.
- The cable insulation is polyethylene (PE) based
and is not dangerous.
- The cable metals can be reused.
Power transmission via HVDC Light® cables means:
- No visual impact
- No ground current
- No fluctuating electromagnetic fields.
- Low losses - HVDC cables are generally much more
efficient for long distance transmissions than AC
cables, particularly for high power.
- Long lifetime - The inherent lifetime of insulating
materials is better for HVDC than for AC.
- No audible noise, unlike overhead lines.
Q: Are there other HVDC Light® projects in operation?
There are HVDC Light® projects all over the world. HVDC Light® projects in North America include lines from New Haven, Connecticut to Long Island, New York and between Eagle Pass, Texas, and Piedras Negras, Mexico.
Also worth noting is that there is an HVDC Light® project in Australia called the Murraylink Cable which is similar and operates safely in a residential environment. The cable route uses existing roads or rights-of-way. In 2002, the Murraylink project won the Case EARTH Award for Environmental Excellence for best practice and innovation in the environmental management of civil construction projects.
Timeline
Q: How long will construction of the JdF Cable Project
take?
The JdF Cable Project will be constructed and in operation in 20 to 24 months from the point when the contracts and financing have been secured.
Technical Aspects
Q: How deep would the cables be buried?
The cables will be buried from 1 to 2 meters (3 to 6 feet) deep, or more
if necessary. Specific depths will be established in
consultation with municipalities and other utility
owners along the route.
Based on discussions with the marine consultants regarding
the expected seabed conditions, it is likely that 1metre (3 feet)
is a reasonable depth of cover along the proposed marine
route.
Q: How long is the cable in total? What are the respective lengths of the Canadian and US portions of the route?
The total length is just under 50 km (31 miles). The Canadian terrestrial section is about 11 km (just under 7 miles), and the Canadian marine section is about 20 km (12.5 miles). In the US, the terrestrial portion is about 1.3 km (0.8 miles) and the marine section is about 14 km (8.7 miles).
Q: What is the life expectancy of the Juan de Fuca
Cable?
The expected operational life of the JdF Cable is about
60 years.
Q: Would there be a lot of noise during construction?
Noise impacts from the cable installation would
be temporary, and would be similar to those produced
from the installation of other utilities, such as a
phone cable. Noise suppressors for some construction
equipment have been used in similar projects, with
positive results.
Q: Will there be any noise during operation?
No. HVDC cables do not make any noise.
Q How will traffic be affected during
construction?
Measures to reduce the disruption
will be established in consultation with municipal
staff. Such measures will include a comprehensive traffic
management plan (including on-going public notification
during construction, and alternative parking for areas
where parking may impact businesses). Sea Breeze
will also promptly reconstruct the roads once installation
of the cable is finished. In consultation with
municipal staff, one lane of the road will remain open
so that traffic can flow around the work site during
construction. On
extremely busy streets, Sea Breeze will work with municipal
staff to determine the most appropriate schedule for
the construction work.
Public Consultation
Q: How has Sea Breeze been
consulting with the public?
Sea Breeze recognizes the importance of access to
reliable information when it comes to keeping up to
date on what’s happening in your community. Since
the beginning of 2005 we have:
- Identified people with interest in the JdF Cable Project
and sent information with maps and updates.
- Held open houses and information sessions to provide
an opportunity for interested parties to ask questions
and voice their concerns directly to Sea Breeze staff.
- Provided comment sheets both at open houses and
online to gather input and address concerns/questions.
- Provided contact information and have been available
to provide interested parties with the opportunity
to contact Sea Breeze staff directly.
- Sent emails regularly with JdF Cable Project updates to a
list of identified interested parties.
- Made presentations to municipal councils about
the JdF Cable Project.
Company Background
Q: Who is responsible for the JdF Cable Project?
Sea Breeze Pacific Juan de Fuca Cable LP is
a special purpose entity that was formed to develop
transmission opportunities in the Pacific Northwest. It
is a partnership between Sea Breeze Power Corp., a
Vancouver-based renewable energy developer, Boundless
Energy NW, Inc., (''Boundless'') a transmission and
utility engineering company based in Connecticut
and a fund of EIF Group; a private equity fund manager.
Sea Breeze Pacific Juan de Fuca Cable LP has two subsidiaries
to manage the multi-jurisdictional affairs of an international
power line: Sea Breeze Victoria Converter Corporation
carries out Canadian operations, and Sea Breeze Olympic
Converter LP performs US permitting and contracting. ABB
Inc., an international cable design, manufacturing,
and installation company, will be engaged to design
and build the JdF Cable Project using their HVDC Light® technology.
The Sea Breeze team is working to prepare the Pacific Northwest for a future sustained by green energy.
- Sea Breeze Power Corp. is
a Vancouver-based developer of renewable energy projects,
with a 450 MW wind farm permitted on Vancouver Island
and a 25 MW run-of-river hydro project in the permitting
process on the Mainland.
- Boundless Energy LLC is
the founder of the Neptune Project, a transmission
project that is similar to the Juan de Fuca Cable
Project. Neptune
is a 600 MW, 500 KV, HVDC system connecting the transmission
systems of the Long Island Power Authority, servicing
Long Island, New York, and First Energy Corp., serving
northern coastal New Jersey. The principals of Boundless
also have management experience in the construction
and operation of the Hydro Quebec Phase 1 and Phase
2 Projects, as well as the Highgate, Vermont Project.
- ABB Inc. will be responsible
for cable design, manufacturing and construction.
ABB is a highly experienced electrical manufacturing
and engineering company with 50 years of experience
with the development and installation of HVDC. ABB’s
past projects include:
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