German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg have officially commissioned the approximately $2.1 billion NordLink interconnector project.
The 387-mile HVDC transmission system with a capacity of 1.4 GW at ± 525 kV, began commercial operation in March 2021.
The interconnector is made up of a 320 miles of submarine cable in the North Sea , 33.9 miles of underground cable and 32 miles of overhead line. The converter stations are located in Wilster in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Tonstad in southern Norway.
NordLink has been developed by the Norwegian transmission system operator Statnett and DC Nordseekabel. The latter is a 50:50 joint venture between transmission system operator TenneT and the German bank KfW.
The transmission project took five years to complete, reports NS Energy.
"NordLink is a milestone for sustainable energy supply and climate protection in Europe. Because the focus is on exchanging renewable energy," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
"NordLink will be of great benefit to both Germany and Norway. It will contribute to a more efficient use of power resources and lay the foundations for further investments in renewable production," said Prime Minister Erna Solberg. "It will also contribute to our joint efforts in lowering emissions. As Germany is phasing out coal power, NordLink will ease the transition from fossil to renewable power production," Solberg added.
The interconnector is designed to exchange wind energy from Germany with hydropower generated in Norway for the next 40 years.
