Application of new technologies to interisland power cables for Hawaii

Abstract

"Any Hawaiian approach to an interisland electrical power network must confront two serious problems. First, the primary potential sources of natural power are on the Big Island, while the primar power consumers will (for the forseeable future) be on Oahu. Second, the first channel (Alenuihaha) that any cable must cross in bringing electrical power from Hawaii to Oahu has a depth of more than 2000 meters. This is almost 4-times deeper than any channel ever crossed by an undersea power cable. These problems may prove fatal if their solutions are constrained by the use of conventional cable designs or conventional materials; e.g., such low-strain materials as annealed copper and soft lead."

Presented to: Pacific Congress on Marine Technology, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 24-27, 1984.