NKT GmbH & Co KG and Prysmian PowerLink S.r.l. have been awarded contracts to design, manufacture, deliver and lay around 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of plastic-insulated underground cables by
TenneT TSO GmbH (the Dutch-German grid operator) and
50Hertz Transmission GmbH, the two transmission system operators behind the 2-GW SuedOstLink transmission line project in Germany.
Prysmian Group is a leading player in the energy and telecom cable systems industry.
The contract work includes detailed routing, installing the connecting sleeves and terminations, and carrying out the final high voltage testing of the cable system.
SuedOstLink is the first of three long-distance power transmission lines in Germany to transport renewable energy from the Northern parts of the country to the South. These transmissions lines are referred to as the HVDC corridor projects covering a large proportion of the country and they are key to realize the ‘Energiewende’, Germany’s long-term strategy for switching to renewable energies by 2050.
SuedOstLink project in Germany when completed will be one of the longest HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) underground cable connections in the world. The 500-km transmission line will connect the federal states of Saxony-Anhalt and Bavaria, transporting wind and solar power from the Northern parts of the country to the South—deemed crucial to further improve supply security and expand renewable energy sources. The project developers expect to invest a combined total of EUR 5 billion (USD 5.4bn) in the project and is expected to be commissioned by 2025.
The unit of NKT A/S will be in charge of the northern part of the project through Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Saxony. The Danish company said that its contract is worth EUR 500 million and that it anticipates cable production to begin at end-2021, with installation scheduled for mid-2022. The subsidiary of Italy’s Prysmian SpA, on the other hand, will be responsible for the Bavarian section.
SuedOstLink is currently seeking approvals at the end of which the approval authority will determine the exact course of the underground cable route. TenneT and 50Hertz expect the link to be finalized by the end of 2025.
Tim Meyerjürgens, Managing Director of TenneT commented,
"The underground cables are the heart of SuedOstLink. By placing the order for the underground direct current cables, we have made good progress in implementing this important connection for the energy transition. We will use the innovative, plastic-insulated 525 kV underground cables for the first time worldwide and will thus set new standards in technology and the reduction of environmental impact."
This is part of our Wind Intelligence Service and Project Tracker Services. For more details about the services, please get in touch here.
