On 9 December Hitachi ABB Power Grids announced energisation of the NordLink project, a 623 km long high voltage direct current interconnection that for the first time links German and Norwegian power markets and is the most powerful such interconnection in Europe. It marks a major milestone in Europe’s goal of linking national transmission grids to create an efficient and integrated energy market.
NordLink is the world’s first HVDC Light bi-pole installation to perform at a level of 525 kV and 1400 MW, nearly doubling the power transmission capacity of earlier systems. The increased integration of renewables from both countries, in combination with the usage of pioneering technology, supports the green energy transition.
“We are delighted to be contributing to this milestone project, which brings Europe another step closer towards its vision of an interconnected and carbon-neutral energy system,” said Niklas Persson, managing director of Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ Grid Integration business unit. “Together, with the NordLink owners, Statnett and TenneT, Hitachi ABB Power Grids is contributing to the development of an integrated European energy market, which is powered by renewable energy and underpinned by an electricity backbone that supports sustainable society.”
Nordlink is now entering trial operations, with completion planned for early 2021. The connection provides the German power grid with reliable access to hydropower resources in Norway, and Norway access to Germany’s substantial base of renewable energy, particularly wind and solar energy resources.
Hitachi ABB designed, engineered and supplied the two converter stations – located in Southern Norway and Northern Germany – at the heart of the NordLink project. Both have been delivered to a consortium of transmission system operators, Statnett and TenneT, and the state-owned German development bank, KfW.
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