2012-12-14
First 100 km cable ready for the NordBalt interconnection
Sweden has manufactured 100 km of high-voltage, direct current cable, which will be stretched along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The length of the NordBalt interconnection between the electricity systems of Lithuania and Sweden will be approximately 450 kilometres. The interconnection will consist of two cables stretched side by side, giving a total of 900 kilometres of cable.
“NordBalt will be the first sea interconnection in Lithuanian energy history. We are pleased that all work takes place in due time and according to the plan,” says Virgilijus Poderys, CEO of Litgrid. “The operation of the Lithuanian and Swedish interconnection should be launched as anticipated, in December 2015.”
“ABB, the group of Swedish energy and automation companies, is in charge of manufacturing the engineering components necessary for the interconnection,” says Thomas Worzyk, leading engineer on the NordBalt cable. “NordBalt will be the third-longest underwater interconnection in the world. We aspire to ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply through this interconnection, so every single metre of the cable has to meet quality requirements.”
The preparation for building the interconnection also covers further surveys of the interconnection route at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. A full survey of the route was finalised in 2009 and certain sections are currently undergoing more detailed surveys, as well as specification of the locations of intersection with existing infrastructure such as cables and pipelines.
