Norwegian transmission system operator (TSO) Statnett and Germany’s DC Nordseekabel GmbH, a 50:50 joint venture between TenneT TSO and KfW, have applied for a EUR 800 million loan with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to partially fund the construction of the 1.4GW NordLink high voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector between Norway and Germany.
The EUR 2.1 billion interconnector, rated at ±525 kilovolt (kV), will stretch over 623 kilometers and will be the first direct power link between the German and Norwegian electricity markets once completed at the end of 2019.
NordLink has been designated as one of the European Commission’s projects of common interest to help create an integrated European Union energy market.
It will increase energy security in both countries and support the integration of renewable energy into the countries’ grids by allowing surplus wind and solar power produced in Germany to be transmitted to Norway, and hydroelectric power to be transmitted in the opposite direction.
In September 2016, Statnett and DC Nordseekabel officially started the construction of NordLink in Wilster, Germany.
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 was 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.