The NSN Link under the North Sea will enable a two-way exchange of green energy between the Nordic and British markets through a 730 kilometres submarine HVDC (high voltage direct current) submarine cable system for which Nexans will design, manufacture and install the major section on the Norwegian side.
The 1400MW link, comprising two 525 kV cable systems, is due for completion in 2021. Nexans' contract for Statnett SF and National Grid is valued at € 340 million. The NSN Link will run from Blyth in Northumberland on the north east coast of the UK to Kvilldal in Rogaland on the Norwegian side. Nexans has been awarded the contracts for Lot 1 of the NSN Link - the Fjord submarine section and the Norwegian tunnel/lake and underground cable for the onshore connection on the Norwegian side. With two cable sub-systems, the contract covers the design, manufacture and installation of some 500 kilometres of mass impregnated non-draining (MIND) HVDC cables at depths down to 600 metres off the coast of Norway. The cables will be laid by Nexans' own cable-laying vessel, C/S Nexans Skagerrak and protected on the seabed by trenching with Nexans' Capjet system and rock dumping. Nexans will also provide a shorter length of underground cable for the onshore connection. The cables will be developed, tested and manufactured at Nexans' Halden plant in Norway.
ABB will supply the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter stations at both ends of the North Sea Network (NSN) Link. As part of the order, ABB will design, engineer, supply and commission two ±525 kV, 1,400MW converter stations, using its Voltage Source Converter (VSC) technology, called HVDC Light. One station will be situated in Blyth, UK and one in Kvilldal, Norway.
The contract awarded to Prysmian involves the turn-key supply and installation of a total of around 950 kilometres of submarine and land cables in two sections (over 470 kilometres route length in total) of the overall NSN Link route length. The interconnection comprises of an HVDC bipole - using single core cables with Mass Impregnated (M.I.) paper insulation - that will operate at the voltage level of ±525 kV with a rating of 1400MW. All cables will be produced in the Arco Felice factory (Naples, Italy). The main marine cable laying will be performed by the Group’s owned "Giulio Verne" cable-laying vessel. The delivery and commissioning of the system is scheduled to be completed within September 2021.
