Transmission system operator TenneT will hold a ground breaking ceremony for the 1.4GW NordLink, a subsea HVDC power cable which will connect Norwegian and German power grids, in Wilster, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, on 16 September.
Stretching over 623 kilometers, the NordLink interconnection is rated at ±525 kilovolt (kV), and it will be the first direct power link between the German and Norwegian electricity markets once it is completed at the end of 2019.
The link will enable power trading of renewable energy between the two countries. Germany’s surplus renewable power can be transmitted via NordLink to help Norway cope with high power demand and conserve water in its many hydropower reservoirs. At the other end of the link, Norway can export hydropower to help Germany meet fluctuating daily power demand.
Back in March 2015, ABB won a contract to design, engineer, supply and commission two ±525 kV, 1,400 MW converter stations for the project. One station will be situated near Tonstad in southern Norway and the other near Wilster, where the ground-breaking ceremony will be held
ABB will also design, manufacture and install the 525 kV mass impregnated (MI) cable system in the German sector, with a route of 154 km submarine and 54 km underground.
The NordLink is a joint project of Tennet, Norway’s Statnett and Kfw.