2008-09-15 - A new power link that ABB has built to connect the electricity grids of Norway and the Netherlands is a landmark piece of engineering that brings Europe a step closer to a secure, competitive and environmentally sustainable continent-wide electricity grid.
By
ABB Communications
The 580-km long NorNed high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link is the world's longest and most powerful underwater cable connection, with a transmission capacity of 700 megawatts (MW).
The ABB-built transmission link using high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology is a joint project between two state-owned utilities, TenneT of the Netherlands and Statnett of Norway. The link took more than three-and-a-half years to build.
It allows the Dutch and Norwegian utilities to trade power, increasing the reliability and security of the electricity supply in each country and brings to life a new electricity market for 200 million consumers.
Separate ceremonies held at the HVDC converter stations in Feda, Norway, and in Eemshaven, in the NetherlandsFriday were attended by the Norwegian petroleum and energy minister, Terje Riis-Johansen, and the Dutch economic affairs minister, Maria van der Hoeven.
Norwegian minister of petroleum and energy Terje Riis-Johansen holds the ceremonial connection of the HVDC cable on the Norwegian side of the NorNed interconnection. "I have no doubt that further steps towards market coupling will be made in the near future, benefiting all parties concerned," said van der Hoeven. "Most importantly, you have shown international cooperation to be the key to safeguarding security of supply, raising flexibility and maintaining affordability."
The NorNed project is aligned to the European Union's goals of establishing interconnections to facilitate power exchanges between member states. The plan is to improve Europe's cross-border power infrastructure to help create more efficient power markets within Europe, and to help reduce the incidence of blackouts.
The EU also wants to integrate renewable energy sources into the Europe's power grids, optimize the use of fossil fuel power plants, and significantly reduce CO2 emissions. NorNed, the first direct power link between Norway and the European continent, delivers on all counts.
"The NorNed cable represents an important physical link on the road to one single, strong European power supply market", said TenneT CEO, Mel Kroon.
The link, which has been operational since early May and completed commissioning tests at the end of June 2008, brings Norwegian hydropower to the Dutch grid, which is powered mainly by natural gas and coal, which helps make the European power industry more sustainable.
Landmark engineering
"NorNed is a landmark feat of engineering that brings Europe even closer to the goal of creating a reliable, continent-wide electrical network with low environmental impact,” said Peter Leupp, head of ABB’s Power Systems division. “It is a significant contribution to the quality and reliability of Europe's power supply."
The Dutch grid can use Norwegian hydropower to manage peak power loads during the day and, by offering an alternative to fossil fuel-based generation, grid operators expect to reduce CO
2 emissions by about 1.7 million tons per year.
ABB pioneered HVDC technology and has led the development of HVDC since it delivered the first installation in 1954 to carry power between the Swedish mainland and the island of Gotland. ABB has supplied more than half the world’s HVDC converter stations.
Technology first
In Northern Europe there are already a large number of ABB-built HVDC interconnections, including links between Sweden and Denmark; Norway and Denmark; Sweden and Germany; Denmark and Germany; Sweden, Poland and Germany; and Sweden and Finland.
NorNed is the first long-distance high-volatge underwater interconnection anywhere in the world. The cable can carry up to 700 megawatts (MW) of power, enough to meet the needs of about 600,000 households.