Siemens has been awarded a contract by the power grid service provider Danish Energinet.dk and its Dutch counterpart TenneT TSO, to supply a power link between the Dutch and Danish grids.
The estimated worth of Siemen’s share in the contract is €170m and the project is expected to commence at the beginning of 2019.
Siemens will provide two 700MW direct-current (HVDC) converter stations or a DC voltage of ±320kV at both sides of the DC power line, which will be routed as a subsea cable through the North Sea.
Siemens energy management division CEO Jan Mrosik said: "In fiscal 2015, Siemens commissioned HVDC Plus links with a total capacity of 4.9GW throughout Europe.
"With the COBRA order we will bring projects with a further 4.6GW online over the next few years, thus making a significant contribution to integration of a European power grid."
The station at Eemhaven, Holland, the other in Endrup, Denmark, will be connected by the 325km-long COpenhagen BRussels Amsterdam cable (COBRA cable), which will be supplied by the Italian company Prysmian.
The convertor stations will be employing HVDC Plus voltage-sourced converters in a modular multilevel converter arrangement (VSC-MMC) that convert AC to DC and DC back to AC on the other side of the link.
The HVDC Plus system aligns with power transistors, which when switched off, allows the commutation processes in the power converter to run independently of the grid voltage.
The convertors are equipped to address grid faults and disturbances in the three-phase AC network, by virtue of its control and protective intervention capabilities fostering an uninterrupted power supply.
Energinet.dk will assume the responsibility to house the Siemens converter equipment at the Endrup station.
Siemens will also supply the turn-key converter station in Eemshaven.
Additionally, under the contract, Siemens will render their support in designing, supplying, installing and commissioning of all components.
The link supplied is aimed at boosting the supply reliability in both countries and integrate renewable energy sources into the power grid.
The convertor stations between Denmark and Holland are also designated as one of the European Commission’s projects of common interest to create an integrated European Union energy market.
Image: An interior view of the convertor station in Büttel in Schleswig-Holstein to be used for the COBRA converter stations. Photo:courtesy of Siemens AG.
