The Netherlands: TenneT Opens New ‘Renewable Energy Highway’

Dutch TSO TenneT has marked the official incorporation into the national grid of the Randstad380 South Ring, a new 380kV high-voltage connection. This ultramodern ‘power highway’ has been constructed using the latest technologies and includes a number of underground cable sections and TenneT’s innovative Wintrack pylon design.

TenneT CEO Mel Kroon: “The Randstad380 South Ring is an important addition in that it will enable us to meet the increasing (renewable) energy integration, cross-border connection and flexibility demands made of our national grid.”

“This high-voltage connection is something to be proud of,” adds Henk Kamp, Minister of Economic Affairs. “It is an innovative project that has attracted worldwide interest. This connection ensures that the Dutch power grid will have sufficient capacity well into the future, guaranteeing a reliable energy supply to Dutch households and businesses.”

The Randstad380 South Ring is part of a high-voltage connection spanning 80 kilometres, which includes the Randstad380 North Ring. The project is scheduled for completion in 2018. The North Ring will be constructed between the towns of Bleiswijk and Beverwijk. The South Ring stretches between Wateringen and Bleiswijk. TenneT’s investments in the Dutch high-voltage infrastructure for the next ten years will amount to 5 billion euro. Over the next ten years four large-scale projects – including the Randstad380 South and North Rings – and 300 smaller-scale projects will be carried out.

Global innovations: magnetic field size reduction and 380,000 Volts

Other European TSOs are keeping close tabs on this project because of two innovations that TenneT has used. One of those is the implementation of the Wintrack pylons, developed by TenneT. Their design ensures a magnetic field zone over 60 per cent smaller than that of a connection using lattice pylons. In addition, the colour and slender design of Wintrack pylons minimizes their impact on both the natural environment and the living environment of local residents: the pylons are much less intrusive visually.

Throughout the world, the vital 380 kV (380,000 Volts) transmission grid is constructed almost entirely above ground. By using underground cables, TenneT demonstrates its commitment to furthering the development of this new technology. The Randstad380 South Ring includes a total of 10.7 kilometres of cabling, sparing this densely populated area the significantly greater impact of overhead lines and pylons. The underground installation of a high-capacity 380 kV cable over such a long distance is a world first, which makes the Netherlands a leader in the construction of innovative high-voltage connections.

Renewable energy integration

The Netherlands’ South-west is a large and growing electricity producer, including the Maasvlakte and Velsen plants and distributed power generation by market gardeners), but also imports large volumes of energy. It is imperative that this energy flow is transported to (and from) the rest of the country and other European countries (market coupling) across a reliable grid offering maximum security of supply.

The Randstad380 South Ring offers the future-proof transmission and distribution capacity required for the prospective North Sea wind farms as included in the National Energy Deal (Nationaal Energie-akkoord).

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Press release, September 10, 2013; Image: TenneT