BritNed
Map
Location of BritNed
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom, Netherlands
Coordinates51°26′24″N 0°43′0″E / 51.44000°N 0.71667°E / 51.44000; 0.71667 (HVDC BritNed - Grain Static Inverter Plant)
51°57′27″N 4°01′17″E / 51.95750°N 4.02139°E / 51.95750; 4.02139 (HVDC BritNed - Maasvlakte Static Inverter Plant)
General directionnorth–south, west–south
FromIsle of Grain, Kent
Passes throughNorth Sea
ToMaasvlakte, Rotterdam
Ownership information
PartnersNational Grid plc (United Kingdom)
TenneT (Netherlands)
Construction information
Manufacturer of conductor/cableABB
Cable layerGlobal Marine Systems
Manufacturer of substationsSiemens
Installer of substationsBAM Nuttall
Construction started2009
Commissioned2011
Technical information
Typesubmarine cable
Type of currentHVDC
Total length260 km (160 mi)
Power rating1,000 MW
DC voltage450 kV
No. of poles2

BritNed is a 1,000 MW high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) submarine power cable between the Isle of Grain in Kent, the United Kingdom; and Maasvlakte in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The BritNed interconnector would serve as a link for the foreseeable European super grid project.

History

  Existing links
  Under construction
  Proposed
See also the List of HVDC project in Europe, which would eventually be part of European Supergrid

The project was announced in May 2007.[1] The installation of the first section of cable link started on 11 September 2009,[2] The entire 260 km (160 miles) cable was completed in October 2010.[3] It began operation on 1 April 2011,[4][5] and as of January 2012, electricity flow has mostly been from the Netherlands to the UK.[6]

Technical description

The 260 km (160-mile) long bi-pole 450 kV interconnector consists of two HVDC cables, which are bundled together. The capacity of the cable is 1,000 MW. The interconnector has two converter stations for connecting the link with the British and Dutch high-voltage electricity transmission systems.[7] The cable was produced by ABB and laid by Global Marine Systems, while the BAM Nuttall/Siemens consortium was responsible for the construction and equipping of the converter stations.[7][8] BritNed was completed on time and within the budget of €600 million.[5]

Operators

The respective transmission system operators of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands - National Grid plc and TenneT; formed a joint venture to fund and operate the interconnection, independently from National Grid and TenneT's regulated businesses.[9]

Outages

BritNed suffered a number of outages due to undersea cable faults in 2020/21. A significant outage happened on 9 March 2021 and the connection was scheduled to be restored on 8 May 2021, but this was later delayed until 7 June 2021.[10]

Coordinates

Site Coordinates
Grain Static Inverter Plant 51°26′24″N 0°43′0″E / 51.44000°N 0.71667°E / 51.44000; 0.71667 (HVDC BritNed - Grain Static Inverter Plant)
Maasvlakte Static Inverter Plant 51°57′27″N 4°01′17″E / 51.95750°N 4.02139°E / 51.95750; 4.02139 (HVDC BritNed - Maasvlakte Static Inverter Plant)

See also

References

  1. ^ Fineren, Daniel (22 May 2007). "New cable to link UK and Dutch power grids". Reuters. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  2. ^ Hornby, Catherine (11 September 2009). "Dutch-UK marine power cable laying starts". Reuters. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  3. ^ "Global Marine Systems Completes Power Connection Between the Netherlands and the UK" (PDF) (Press release). Global Marine Systems. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2011.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Paulsson, Lars (24 February 2011). "Dutch, U.K. Regulators Approve BritNed Power Cable Trading". Bloomberg. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  5. ^ a b "BritNed cable electrically connects United Kingdom and the Netherlands" (Press release). TenneT. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  6. ^ Justin Wilkes et al. The European offshore wind industry key 2011 trends and statistics p22 European Wind Energy Association, January 2012. Accessed: 26 March 2012.
  7. ^ a b "BritNed begins laying UK-Netherlands marine electricity cable". Power Engineering. PennWell Corporation. 16 September 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  8. ^ "ABB awards submarine cable installation projects to Global Marine Systems". Power Engineering. PennWell Corporation. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  9. ^ "€600m electricity link between the Netherlands and UK". Power Engineering. PennWell Corporation. 23 May 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  10. ^ "Notices (See, e.g. Update (31 May 2021))". www.britned.com. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2022.

External links

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National Grid
Energy in the United Kingdom
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