720 km of submarine cable connected: Why electricity is available from Norway to the UK

The world’s longest undersea power cable, through which Norway and the UK want to share renewable energy.

Through the North Sea Link, London aims to reduce carbon emissions by 23 million tonnes by 2030.

The 720 km long cable connects Plymouth in the North East of England with Quilt, a small village in southwestern Norway.

It will initially have a maximum capacity of 700 MW (MW), which will be gradually increased to 1,400 MW in about three months.

National Grid, a UK company that operates the interconnector in a joint venture with Norwegian system operator Statnet, said the North Sea connection should provide enough clean electricity at full capacity to 1.4 million households.

When UK wind power production is high but energy demand is low, additional renewable electricity from Britain will be exported to Norway, which will store water in Norwegian reservoirs. However, when UK demand is high and hydropower is low, hydropower will be imported from Norway.

It is very small between Germany and Norway Nordlink high voltage direct current transmissionIt was completed in April.

Cardi O’Hara, President of National Grid Ventures, said, “National Grid is an exciting day and an important step on the path to diversifying and decarbonizing the UK’s electricity supply.”

“The North Sea Link is truly an engineering achievement in collaboration with COP26 to maximize energy resources for mutual benefit,” he added.

100 billion tons of carbon stored

The high voltage direct current transmission took six years to complete and cost 1.6 billion.

It completes the fifth power connection for the national phase and the connections to Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

According to the National Grid, by 2030, 90% of the electricity imported into interconnectors will come from non-carbon sources, which is expected to save 100 million tons of carbon.

According to government statistics, 98% of Norwegian electricity is produced from renewable energy sources, of which 96% is hydropower. The remaining 2% is calculated by wind and thermal energy.

A study released by the UK government on Wednesday shows that the share of fossil fuels in power generation in the first six months of the year is greater than the share of renewable energy.

The study found that renewable power generation was down nearly 10% compared to the same period in 2020, as average wind speeds and less favorable weather also affected both wind and solar power generation.