TenneT and Energinet.dk have driven the first pile into the ground to kick off the construction of the Dutch converter station of the COBRAcable, a subsea electricity connection that will link the Dutch and Danish grids.
The COBRAcable will have a capacity of 700MW, will be approximately 325 kilometres long, and will run from Eemshaven, the Netherlands, to Endrup, Denmark, via the German sector of the North Sea.
The connection will be constructed as a High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cable, since the use of DC technology minimizes transmission losses over long distances and therefore virtually eliminates any loss of renewable electricity, TenneT said.
Two onshore converter stations – one in the Netherlands and one in Denmark – are needed to connect the cable to the existing grids.
These stations will convert the electricity from direct to alternating current or vice versa, and will feed it into the Dutch or Danish onshore transmission grid in order to supply electricity to homes and businesses.
Siemens is responsible for constructing the electrical installations in the converter stations in the Netherlands and Denmark. The company will also undertake the civil engineering of the converter station in the Netherlands.
”We are looking forward to helping to construct this innovative European electricity connection together with TenneT, Energinet.dk and Prysmian,” said Bernard Fortuyn, a member of the Managing Board of Siemens Netherlands.
”Siemens is currently working on no less than five of these “electricity highways” in Europe. If we include the COBRAcable, we will help bring 4.6 gigawatts of capacity online in the coming years. In this way Siemens is making a significant contribution to integrating the different national electricity systems into a single European grid.”
The COBRAcable is expected to enter into service in 2019.
In addition to the new COBRAcable, TenneT is currently also working on the NordLink project, a 1,400MW subsea cable link between Germany and Norway that is expected to be completed in 2020.
The COBRAcable is a cross-border project of European significance. The European Commission has therefore allocated a subsidy to this project under the EU Economic Recovery Plan, and has designated the COBRAcable as a Project of Common Interest (PCI).
”The COBRAcable will play a key role in realizing a truly sustainable international energy landscape,” said TenneT COO Ben Voorhorst .
”Via this cable, the Netherlands and Denmark will be able to exchange electricity in a convenient, safe and environmentally friendly manner. For instance, the Netherlands will be able to important more renewable wind energy from Denmark. During periods of little wind, the cable will increase the security of electricity supplies in Denmark. The interconnector will also be designed in such a way as to enable the connection of an offshore wind farm at a later stage.”