Under the orders worth around $900m, ABB will supply and commission two 525kilovolt (kV), 1,400MW converter stations, one near Tonstad in southern Norway and the other near Wilster in northern Germany.
The company will also manufacture and install a 525kV mass impregnated (MI) cable system in Germany.
The 623km NordLink is a HDVC being developed by a 50-50 consortium of Norwegian utility Statnett and DC Nordseekabel. DC Nordseekabel, in turn, is a joint venture of European electricity transmission system operator TenneT and promotional bank KfW.
To be the first direct connection between the two countries, the NordLink ‘green cable’ will connect Norwegian hydroelectric power with German wind power.
The 516km subsea and 54km underground cable system will connect converter stations to be built in Wilster and Tonstad.
Under the current contract, ABB will lay the HVDC cable in the German sector (154km of subsea cable and 54km of underground cable), while Nexans Norway will lay the subsea cable in the Norwegian and Danish sectors.
ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer said: "The smart combination of renewable power generation, e.g. solar and wind in Germany and hydro-electric in Norway, demonstrates that we can technologically enable a sustainable green energy policy across Europe."
"This order …. is another milestone in restoring our Power Systems division to a path of long-term growth and profitability."
The €2bn NordLink project is expected to begin commercial operation in 2020.
Image: Statnett and TenneT CEOs Auke Lont and Mel Kroon at the contract signing-in ceremony. Photo: courtesy of TenneT Holding B.V.
