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19 January 2004 - Dutch grid operator TenneT and Norwegian-based Statnett said today they were injecting new life into the proposal for the construction of a high-voltage cable enabling the import and export of electricity between the Netherlands and Norway. Both parties foresee genuine fresh prospects for the profitable exploitation of such a transmission cable if it were generally accessible to market players interested in making use of such a facility.
The idea of a transmission cable along the seabed has not been implemented to date because of commercial contracts which became unattractive under present market conditions. Partners in the original cable project, NEA and Statkraft, last week put an official end to their commercial collaboration. The ending of these old commitments now clears the way for TenneT and Statnett for an exploitation that actually is profitable. TenneT and Statnett are the independent administrators of the high-voltage grids in the Netherlands and Norway, respectively, and as such are charged with the transmission of electricity.
A high-voltage link between the Netherlands and Norway will lay some 580 km stretch of cable along the seabed. The cable has a planned capacity of 600MW. TenneT and Statnett are keen to complete the underlying feasibility study before the current year is out, so as to enable the transmission cable to be taken into use no later than by 2008. The permits and contracts that were issued and concluded in the context of the original scheme will remain available. Actual construction is expected to take three to four years to be completed.
In Norway, hydropower accounts for 99 per cent of power generation. The Netherlands mainly has fossil fuel power generation through gas and coal power stations. By building an interconnector between both countries the total of Dutch production capacity can be used more optimally during the night, whereas during peak hours in the daytime the Norwegian hydropower can be utilized.
The idea of a transmission cable between the Netherlands and Norway fits into TenneT's policy of connecting markets. This increases liquidity in the market, which will make the price-making progress of power more stable and will, at the same time, support the security of supply. The project also fits into the pursuit of the European Commission to reinforce the transeuropean grids and thus boost the European power market.
TenneT and its British counterpart, National Grid Transco, are already working on the realisation of an Anglo-Dutch transmission cable in the context of the BritNed project. The definitive decision as to whether this cable is actually going to be built is still being awaited, and is expected to be made mid 2005.
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