Laying of EstLink 2 Submarine Cable Begins

Dec. 1, 2012
The laying of the submarine cable for the EstLink 2 electricity transmission connection between Finland and Estonia was started with marine cable pull-in

The laying of the submarine cable for the EstLink 2 electricity transmission connection between Finland and Estonia was started with marine cable pull-in operations in Aseri, Estonia. The joint project between Fingrid Oyj, a Finnish national electricity transmission grid operator, and Elering, an electric power transmission system operator in Estonia, has a total budget of approximately 320 million euros.

The EstLink 2 HVDC (high-voltage direct current) connection between Finland and Estonia will have a transmission capacity of 650 MW, which increases the total transmission capacity between the countries to 1,000 MW. The length of the link is approximately 170 km (106 miles), some 14 km (9 miles) of which is overhead line in Finland, about 145 km (90 miles) submarine cable laid on the bottom of the Gulf of Finland, and about 12 km (7 miles) of underground cable in Estonia.

There will be converter stations at both ends of the link used for converting direct current to alternating current, and vice versa. The cables will be connected at the middle of the Gulf of Finland. After the laying of the cable, it will be submerged and protected in the seabed by means of the water jetting method.

The EstLink 2 HVDC connection is being built to improve power system security and electricity market integration in the Baltic Sea region. After several phases of the installation, the final jointing, testing and commissioning of the submarine cable will be done in 2013.

For more information, visit www.elering.ee/en.

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