Versant works to complete first of two undersea power line projects for 2022

Versant Power is installing an undersea power transmission cable between two islands off Acadia National Park and says the new line will offer more reliability than the one currently in use.

The cable will be laid between Great Cranberry and Little Cranberry islands, which are not far from Mount Desert Island. The work is necessary because of the cumulative effect of undersea rocks pushed by waves and tides against the cables over 30 years, according to Marissa Minor, a Versant Power spokesperson.

Patch jobs over the past few decades were a “temporary solution to restore electricity while islanders awaited new, more reliable cables,” the news release noted. But this new cable aims to be a more-permanent solution, Minor said.

“We were able to use modern GPS and survey technology to see the ocean floor and identify the best path for the [new] cables,” she added. “The new cables were manufactured in 2021 and are far more advanced and resilient than the old, damaged cables.”

On Monday, final shore work was being completed and the entire project is expected to wrap up next week, said Minor. Versant installed the cable itself last week.

The work is the first of two undersea transmission line projects that Versant has planned for this year. Next up is a 6-mile-long line that will serve residents of Swan's Island, to the southwest of Mount Desert Island. That work should start in early October and take four days to finish.

The current Swan’s Island cable had also been “severely damaged” by undersea movements, according to the news release. The replacement cable, which will arrive by barge, will have fiber-optic capabilities to also deliver internet to the island.

Both of the new “cables will lie on the seabed and not be buried, which will leave the seabed intact and not disturb marine flora and fauna,” Versant said in the release. “The new cables will follow approximately along the same path as the existing cables and will also have the same shore landing locations, and will be trenched in at both shore landings to avoid exposure and potential damage.”