Skagerrak is the name of a 1,700
MW 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) transmission facility between
Tjele (
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
) and
Kristiansand
Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...
(
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
). It is owned and operated by
Statnett
Statnett is a Norwegian state owned enterprise responsible for owning, operating and constructing the stem power grid in Norway. The company has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway.
Statnett also owns 30% of the Nord Pool Spot along with other Nor ...
in Norway, and
Energinet
Energinet is the Danish national transmission system operator for electricity and natural gas. It is an independent public enterprise owned by the Danish state under the Ministry of Climate and Energy. Energinet has some 1150 employees, an ...
in Denmark.
[ The lines connect the hydroelectric-based Norwegian grid and the wind and thermal power-based Danish grid. In operation it enables more renewable energy in the ]energy mix
The energy mix is a group of different primary energy sources from which secondary energy for direct use - such as electricity - is produced. Energy mix refers to all direct uses of energy, such as transportation and housing, and should not be c ...
, and more efficient use of electricity.
Technical features
The Skagerrak 1–3 scheme consists of a overhead line and a underwater cable. It has a capacity of 1,050 megawatts (MW). Both land parts in Denmark and in Norway uses overhead lines from the cable landing point to the converter stations
Converter may refer to:
Electromagnetics
*Frequency converter
*Voltage converter, another name for
**Electromagnetic transformer
**Switched-mode power supply
**DC-to-DC converter
**Power inverter (DC to AC)
***Solar inverter
Electronics
*Digita ...
.[
] The overhead lines in Denmark are set to be renovated in 2016 for increased lifespan. The towers were originally constructed for four poles, but were rebuilt for three conductors (three poles) when Skagerrak 3 was established. Near Aggersund HVDC Skagerrak crossed Aggersund strait overhead on towers with a span, but were later converted to underground cables. The pylons of this span were the tallest electricity pylons of an HVDC line in Europe.
For such a long submarine cable, an AC transmission scheme would not be feasible since too much of the cable's capacity would be consumed by the capacitance
Capacitance is the capability of a material object or device to store electric charge. It is measured by the change in charge in response to a difference in electric potential, expressed as the ratio of those quantities. Commonly recognized are ...
of the cable itself, and the power systems in Norway and Jutland are not synchronous.
The transmission has a loss rate of 4%.
The waste heat of the transformers is enough to supply district heating
District heating (also known as heat networks or teleheating) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating a ...
economically for 1,000 homes in nearby towns, but taxes prevent that project. The adjacent Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
Datacenter
A data center (American English) or data centre (British English)See spelling differences. is a building, a dedicated space within a building, or a group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunic ...
(supplied in part by the Skagerrak cables via Tjele) was expected to work around the tax issue when supplying district heat to Viborg.
Skagerrak 1 and 2
Skagerrak went in service in 1977 as a bipolar HVDC scheme. This facility was built with thyristor
A thyristor () is a solid-state semiconductor device with four layers of alternating P- and N-type materials used for high-power applications. It acts exclusively as a bistable switch (or a latch), conducting when the gate receives a current ...
valves. When installed this underwater cable was the world's longest and deepest underwater HVDC power cable. The cable, manufactured by Alcatel Alcatel may refer to:
* Alcatel, a former French telecommunications equipment company, which became Alcatel-Lucent and is now part of Nokia
* Alcatel Mobile, a brand of mobile phones, tablets and wearables, formerly a joint venture between Alcatel ...
, is laid in a maximum water depth of .[
]
Both cables have a capacity of 250 MW at 250 kV.[
]
Skagerrak 3
In 1993 the scheme was extended by HVDC Skagerrak 3. Skagerrak 3 is a monopolar line for a voltage of 350 kV with a capacity of 440 MW at 350 kV.[ In installing Skagerrak 3, the old poles Skagerrak 1 and Skagerrak 2 were converted to monopolar HVDC schemes, which run with opposite polarity to Skagerrak 3.][ In 1999, the full 1,000 MW capacity was reserved by large power companies.
]
Skagerrak 4
In November 2009, Statnett and Energinet.dk signed the agreement to construct Skagerrak 4.[
] The capacity of Skagerrak 4 is approximately 700 MW. It had been in a test phase since 1 October 2014 and became operational at the end of 2014, when strong winds created negative prices despite the new connection.[Bredsdorff, Magnus]
Nytårsblæsevejr: Vindmølleejere betaler for at producere strøm
(in Danish) tr. New Year's windy weather: Wind turbine owners pay to produce electricity '' Ing.dk'', 2 January 2015. Accessed: 2 January 2015. It was officially inaugurated by Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, (Frederik André Henrik Christian; born 26 May 1968) is the heir apparent to the Danish throne. He is the elder son of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik.
Early life
Crown Prince Freder ...
and Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway
Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (; Haakon Magnus; born 20 July 1973) is the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne. He is the only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja.
Haakon represents the fourth generation of the sitting Norwegian royal famil ...
on 12 March 2015. As for the existing Skagerrak 1-3, the grid connection points are Kristiansand and Tjele. Differently from Skagerrak 1–3, for Skagerrak 4 a cable solution is chosen for the complete route length.[ The 300 million DKK Prysmian land cable on the Danish side is approximately , while the subsea cable and the Norwegian land cable is to be made by ]Nexans
Nexans S.A. is a global company in the cable and optical fiber industry headquartered in Paris, France.
The group is active in four main business areas: buildings and territories (construction, local infrastructure, smart cities / grids, e-mobil ...
for 638 million DKK. Converter stations were built 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 ...
, as for Skagerrak 1–3.[
] The combined budget is 2.8-3.2 billion DKK.[Mikkelsen, Søren Damsgaard]
Billion kroner cables
''Energinet.dk
Energinet is the Danish national transmission system operator for electricity and natural gas. It is an independent public enterprise owned by the Danish state under the Ministry of Climate and Energy. Energinet has some 1150 employees, a ...
'', 7 January 2011. Accessed: 9 January 2011.[130 mio. euro for new technology on Skagerrak 4]
''Energinet.dk
Energinet is the Danish national transmission system operator for electricity and natural gas. It is an independent public enterprise owned by the Danish state under the Ministry of Climate and Energy. Energinet has some 1150 employees, a ...
'', 10 February 2011. Accessed: 29 November 2011.
The technology used was VSC, capable of black start
A black start is the process of restoring an electric power station or a part of an electric grid to operation without relying on the external electric power transmission network to recover from a total or partial shutdown.Knight, U.G. ''Power ...
. Although thyristor-based converters have a loss of only 0.7%, the IGBTs of VSC get close with a loss of 0.8 to 1%. Skagerrak 1 and 2 previously used Skagerrak 3 as a return cable, but 1 and 2 were again coupled so that Skagerrak 4 can use number 3 for returns.[Godske, Bjørn]
New cable to Norway secures grid against faults
(in Danish) '' Ing.dk'', 11 February 2011. Accessed: 11 February 2011. The cable also supplies 110 MW of reserve power
In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power, also known as discretionary power, is a power that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch or part of the government. Unlike in a ...
.[Offentliggørelse af priser for systemydelser på SK4]
tr. Publication of prices for system services on SK4 ''Energinet.dk
Energinet is the Danish national transmission system operator for electricity and natural gas. It is an independent public enterprise owned by the Danish state under the Ministry of Climate and Energy. Energinet has some 1150 employees, a ...
'', 1 December 2014. Accessed: 25 February 2016. Some of the 24 fiber pairs may be rented for business by telecommunications companies.[Zachariassen, Espen.]
Statnett bør pålegges å legge fiber i utenlandskablene
tr. Statnett should be ordered to lay fiber in the foreign cables ''Teknisk Ukeblad
''Teknisk Ukeblad'' (''TU'', en, Technical Weekly Magazine) is a Norwegian engineering magazine. The magazine has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway.
History and profile
''TU'' has appeared weekly since 13 April 1883 and was published by Ingeniørf ...
'', 23 October 2013. Accessed: 12 January 2015.
Sites
Waypoints
;Overhead line in Denmark
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
; Underground cable in Denmark
*
*
*
*
*
; Overhead line in Norway
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
; Electrode line in Norway
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
See also
* Baltic Cable
The Baltic Cable is a monopolar HVDC power line running beneath the Baltic Sea that interconnects the electric power grids of Germany and Sweden. Its maximum transmission power is 600 megawatts (MW).
The Baltic Cable uses a transmission voltag ...
* Kontek
The Kontek HVDC is a long, monopolar 400 kV high-voltage direct current cable between Germany and the Danish island Zealand. Its name comes from "continent" and the name of the former Danish power transmission company "Elkraft", which o ...
* Konti-Skan
* NORD.LINK
NordLink is a subsea 1,400 megawatt (MW) HVDC power cable between Norway and Germany, opened in May 2021. The over long cable operates at a voltage of 500 kV DC.
The cable enables Deutsche Bahn to buy the full production from MÃ ...
* 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 ...
* Scotland-Norway interconnector
The NorthConnect (also known as Scotland–Norway interconnector) is a proposed 1,400MW HVDC interconnector over the floor of the North Sea.
Current status
The future of the project is unclear. In March 2020, the Norwegian Government placed th ...
References
External links
Description of Skagerrak 3
{cbignore, bot=medic
Pictures
More pictures
Animation of Skagerrak 4
* 4c pages fo
Monthly exchange
Electrical interconnectors to and from the Nordic grid
Electrical interconnectors to and from the Synchronous Grid of Continental Europe
Electric power infrastructure in Denmark
Electric power infrastructure in Norway
HVDC transmission lines
Electrical interconnectors in the North Sea
Denmark–Norway relations
Energy infrastructure completed in 1977
Energy infrastructure completed in 1993
1977 establishments in Denmark
1977 establishments in Norway