Nemo Link

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Nemo Link is a high-voltage direct current connection in the North Sea that the power grid of the United Kingdom attaches to the Belgian network. It was officially put into operation on January 31, 2019. The project was carried out by the two transmission system operators National Grid and Elia . A test run of around two months took place prior to commissioning.

Nemo-Link converter in Bruges, 2018

The end point in England is the site of the decommissioned Richborough power station . On the Belgian side, the cable ends in the Herdersbrug industrial area , a district of Bruges . Two submarine cables were laid , which are operated as bipolar HVDC with a direct voltage of ± 400  kV . The maximum transmission capacity is 1  GW . The converter stations and converter transformers required for operation were supplied by Siemens .

Reasons for the construction were u. a. the coupling of the electricity markets of Great Britain and Belgium, with which a cost reduction in electricity prices is to be achieved, as well as the increase in the energy security of both countries. In addition, renewable energies , v. a. Wind turbines should be better integrated into the European energy system, since the variability of generation can be significantly reduced through supra-regional electricity exchange.

The cost was around £ 600 million. The cable is expected to deliver primarily electrical power to the UK and, in addition to better integrating renewable energies, will save UK electricity customers around £ 80 to 100 million annually. In addition, the security of supply for the two countries should increase, not least in Belgium, where power outages were feared in the winter of 2018/19 because six of the seven existing reactor blocks were not connected to the grid due to technical problems.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Connection between Belgium and the British Isles stands . In: ZfK , January 31, 2019. Accessed February 2, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b Funding Nemo: £ 600m power cable connects UK and Belgium . In: The Guardian , December 5, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  3. ↑ Major HVDC contract: Siemens connects British and Belgian power grids , Siemens publication, accessed November 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ Why is an interconnector required? . Website of the operator. Retrieved March 12, 2016.