Design of an undersea power system for the East China Sea experimental cabled seafloor observatory

The science community has proposed to establish large-scale long-term cabled seafloor observatories in the Chinese marginal seas. In this preparation phase, a small-scale experimental cabled seafloor observatory in East China Sea is under construction. The overall system structure of the experimental observatory is introduced. The critical power components of the undersea power system, which are the power feeding equipment, the submarine communications cable, and the undersea power converter, is designed and modeled. The backbone power delivery system is analyzed based on these models. The laboratory test proves the feasibility and reliability of the design. Finally, a power management system is designed to monitor and control the overall electric energy of the undersea power system.