Estlink

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Estlink is a HVDC submarine cable between Estonia and Finland. The project was launched on 27 April 2005. The 105km long (where of 74km under water) +/-150kV, 350MW HVDC link was taken into service on 4 December 2006. It is the first interconnection between the Baltic and Nordic electricity markets.

The Estlink cable is connected to the Estonian electrical system at the Harku 330kV converter station and to the Finish transmission network at Espoo 400 kV converter station using HVDC Light transmission technology. The installation of land cable began on 4 May 2006 in Harku. The submarine cable was laid on the seabed of the Gulf of Finland in the autumn of 2006. The cable's maximum depth on the seabed is 100 meters.

The Estlink is operated by Nordic Energy Link company, founded by Baltic and Finnish power companies. The main shareholder is Eesti Energia with 39.9% of the shares, Latvenergo and Lietuvos Energija have 25% each, and the remaining 10.1% are divided between Pohjolan Voima and Helsingin Energia. The cable is constructed by ABB. ABB has built analogous submarine cables in the US (Cross Sound Cable) and Norway (Troll Cable), and currently is building NorNed cable to connect Norway and the Netherlands.

The main purpose of the Estlink connection is to sell electricity produced in the Baltic to the Nordic electricity market, and to secure power supply in both regions.