BritNed is a 1,000MW
high-voltage direct-current
A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system (also called a power superhighway or an electrical superhighway) uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating curre ...
(HVDC)
submarine power cable
A submarine power cable is a transmission cable for carrying electric power below the surface of the water.[Isle of Grain
Isle of Grain (Old English ''Greon'', meaning gravel) is a village and the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula within the district of Medway in Kent, south-east England. No longer an island and now forming part of the peninsula, the area is ...]
in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, the United Kingdom; and
Maasvlakte
The Maasvlakte () is a massive man-made westward extension of the Europoort port and industrial facility within the Port of Rotterdam. Situated in the municipality of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the Maasvlakte is built on land reclaimed fr ...
in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, the Netherlands.
The BritNed
interconnector
An interconnector (also known as a DC tie in the USA) is a structure which enables high voltage DC electricity to flow between electrical grids. An electrical interconnector allows electricity to flow between separate AC networks, or to link sy ...
would serve as a link for the foreseeable
European super grid
The European super grid is a possible future super grid that would ultimately interconnect the various European countries and the regions around Europe's borders – including North Africa, Kazakhstan, and Turkey – with a high-voltage ...
project.
History
![HVDC Europe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/HVDC_Europe.svg)
The project was announced in May 2007.
[
]
The installation of the first section of cable link started on 11 September 2009,
[
]
The entire cable was completed in October 2010.
It began operation on 1 April 2011,
[
][
] and as of January 2012, electricity flow has mostly been from the Netherlands to the UK.
[Justin Wilkes et al]
The European offshore wind industry key 2011 trends and statistics
p22 ''European Wind Energy Association
WindEurope is an association promoting the use of wind power in Europe. Based in Brussels it has over 600 members, which are active in over 50 countries, including manufacturers with a leading share of the world wind power market, component suppli ...
'', January 2012. Accessed: 26 March 2012.
Technical description
The long bi-pole 450kV interconnector consists of two HVDC cables, which are bundled together. The capacity of the cable is 1,000MW. The interconnector has two
converter station
An HVDC converter station (or simply converter station) is a specialised type of substation which forms the terminal equipment for a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line.Arrillaga, Jos; High Voltage Direct Current Transmission, se ...
s for connecting the link with the British and Dutch high-voltage electricity transmission systems.
[ The cable was produced by ]ABB
ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...
and laid by Global Marine Systems
Global Marine Group is a British-headquartered specialist provider of installation, maintenance and repairs of submarine communications cable for the telecommunications, oil & gas and deep sea research industries. To this end, they operate their ...
, while the BAM Nuttall
BAM Nuttall Limited (formerly known as Edmund Nuttall Limited) is a construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Camberley, United Kingdom. It has been involved in a portfolio of road, rail, nuclear, and other major projects worldw ...
/Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
consortium
A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...
was responsible for the construction and equipping of the converter stations.[
][
]
BritNed was completed on time and within the budget of €600million.[
]
Operators
The respective transmission system operator
File:Electricity grid simple- North America.svg, 380px, Simplified diagram of AC electricity grid from generation stations to consumers
rect 2 243 235 438 Power station
rect 276 317 412 556 Transformer
rect 412 121 781 400 Electric power transmis ...
s of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands - National Grid plc
National Grid plc is a British multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, England. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom, where it owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission networks ...
and TenneT
TenneT is a transmission system operator in the Netherlands and in a large part of Germany.
''TenneT B.V.'' is the national electricity transmission system operator of the Netherlands, headquartered in Arnhem. Controlled and owned by the Dutch g ...
; formed a joint venture to fund and operate the interconnection, independently from National Grid and TenneT's regulated businesses.[
]
Outages
BritNed has suffered a number of outages due to undersea cable faults in 2020/21. The latest outage happened on 9 March 2021 and was scheduled to be restored on 8 May 2021, but later delayed until 7 June 2021.
Coordinates
See also
* NorNed
NorNed is a long high-voltage direct current submarine power cable between Feda in Norway and the seaport of Eemshaven in the Netherlands, which interconnects both countries' electrical grids. It was once the longest submarine power cable in the ...
* Gridlink Interconnector
Gridlink Interconnector is a proposed submarine power cable between England and France. The 1,400MW HVDC connector would link Kingsnorth National Grid substation in north Kent, England, with RTE Warande substation in Bourbourg ( Nord) near ...
* HVDC Cross-Channel
The HVDC Cross-Channel (french: Interconnexion France Angleterre IFA 2000) is the 73 km long high-voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector that operates since 1986 under the English Channel between the continental European grid at Bonningues- ...
, 2,000 MW between UK and France
* Icelink
Icelink is a proposed electricity interconnector between Iceland and the United Kingdom via Great Britain. At , the 8001,200MW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link would be the longest sub-sea power interconnector in the world.
The project pa ...
, a proposed link between Iceland and Great Britain
* Nemo Link
Nemo Link is an HVDC submarine power cable between Richborough Energy Park in Kent, the United Kingdom and Zeebrugge, Belgium. The project is a joint venture between British National Grid and Belgian Elia. The electrical interconnector is the ...
, 1,000 MW between UK and Belgium
* HVDC Norway–UK
The North Sea Link is a 1,400MW high-voltage direct current submarine power cable between Norway and the United Kingdom.
At it is the longest subsea interconnector in the world. The cable became operational on 1 October 2021.
Route
The cable ...
, 1,400 MW between UK and Norway
* List of HVDC projects in Europe
* Renewable energy in the United Kingdom
Renewable energy in the United Kingdom contributes to production for electricity, heat, and transport.
From the mid-1990s, renewable energy began to play a part in the UK's electricity generation, building on a small hydroelectric capacity. ...
* Renewable energy in the Netherlands
Despite the historic usage of wind power to drain water and grind grain, the Netherlands today lags behind all other member states of the European Union in the production of energy from renewable sources. In 2019, the Netherlands produced just 8. ...
References
External links
Official website
Current flow
{{Energy in the United Kingdom, sources
Electrical interconnectors to and from Great Britain
Electrical interconnectors to and from the Synchronous Grid of Continental Europe
Electric power infrastructure in England
Electric power infrastructure in the Netherlands
Energy infrastructure completed in 2011
HVDC transmission lines
National Grid (Great Britain)
Electrical interconnectors in the North Sea
Netherlands–United Kingdom relations
2011 establishments in England
2011 establishments in the Netherlands