Laying of EstLink 2 submarine cable off the coast of Finland
The laying of the submarine cable for the EstLink 2 electricity transmission connection between Finland and Estonia has progressed on schedule. The submarine cable is taken ashore at Nikuviken in Porvoo, Finland, today. The new submarine cable connection will be brought to commercial operation in early 2014. It will play an important role in the development of the electricity market in the Baltic Sea region.The EstLink 2 HVDC (high-voltage direct current) connection between Finland and Estonia will have a transmission capacity of 650 megawatts, which increases the total transmission capacity between the countries to 1,000 megawatts. The total length of the link is approx. 170 km, some 14 km of which is overhead line in Finland, about 145 km submarine cable laid on the bottom of the Gulf of Finland, and about 12 km underground cable in Estonia.
The total budget of the project is approx. 320 million euros, which will be divided between Fingrid and Elering, the transmission system operators in the two countries. EstLink 2 will receive 100 million euros in investment subsidy from the EU as part of the EU’s extensive economy recovery package.
There will be converter stations at both ends of the link, used for converting direct current to alternating current and vice versa. The submarine cable will be connected to the Finnish transmission grid via an overhead line at the Anttila substation. In Estonia, the cable will be connected to the Estonian grid at the Püssi substation in Eastern Estonia.
The submarine cable will be laid on the seabed in two campaigns of approximately 75 kilometres each. A single cable campaign weighs about 5,800 tonnes. The carrying capacity of the cable ship c/s Nexans Skagerrak is 7,000 tonnes.
The first campaign off the coast of Estonia was laid in October, and the laying of the cable outside Porvoo in Finland commenced today. It will take about two weeks to lay the campaign, but this depends on the weather conditions. After the laying of the cable, it will be submerged and protected in the seabed by means of the water jetting method. The final jointing, testing and technical commissioning of the cable will take place in 2013.
“The EstLink 2 connection is an important step in the development of the electricity transmission system in the Baltic Sea region. It will improve the electricity supply security of Finnish and Estonian households and industries. EstLink 2 will enhance the functioning of the electricity market in the Baltic Sea region and integrate the Baltic countries even more closely with the Nordic electricity market,” said Fingrid’s President and CEO Jukka Ruusunen in the cable-laying ceremony.
Further information:
Fingrid: Jukka Ruusunen, President & CEO, tel. +358 (0)40 593 8428
Fingrid: Risto Ryynänen, Project Manager, tel. +358 (0)30 395 5219
Fingrid: Jukka Ruusunen, President & CEO, tel. +358 (0)40 593 8428
Fingrid: Risto Ryynänen, Project Manager, tel. +358 (0)30 395 5219
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