Siemens has been awarded an order for COBRAcable, a link between the Dutch and Danish power grids, by Danish power grid service provider Energinet.dk and its Dutch counterpart TenneT TSO.
Siemens will supply two HVDC converter stations at both sides of the DC power line, which will be routed as a subsea cable through the North Sea. The cable will be supplied by the Italian company Prysmian
The scope of the order covers two 700 MW converter stations for a DC voltage of ±320 Kilovolt (kV). The two converter stations, one at Eemhaven in Holland, the other in Endrup in Denmark, will be linked by a 325-kilometer long DC power cable.
Energinet.dk will be responsible for all the construction work in Endrup for erecting the building to house the Siemens converter equipment at that station. Siemens will supply the turn-key converter station in Eemshaven.
The scope of the order includes the system design and the supply, installation and commissioning of all components. The volume of Siemens’ share of the order is around EUR 170 million.
The COBRAcable HVDC link has been designated as one of the European Commission’s projects of common interest to help create an integrated European Union energy market. The construction of COBRAcable is scheduled to start this year and the link is expected to take up commercial operation at the beginning of 2019.
TenneT CEO Mel Kroon commented: “One main purpose of the COBRA cable is to promote competition in the Northwest European energy market, which will ultimately benefit consumers. Because we are directly linking the Dutch and Danish power grids, the security of supply for businesses and consumers in both countries will also increase. Plus the Netherlands will be able to import more renewable electricity, generated mainly by Danish wind turbine farms.”