COBRA Cable Ready to Go Live

The 700MW COBRA Cable interconnector linking the Dutch and the Danish grid will be available for the electricity market as of delivery day, 7 September, Dutch high-voltage grid operator TenneT said.

The 325-kilometre subsea high-voltage direct current cable is an initiative of TenneT and the Danish electricity and gas grid operator Energinet.

Construction started in 2016 and was completed earlier this year. The interconnector cable runs between Eemshaven, the Netherlands, via Germany, and Endrup, Denmark.

Two onshore converter stations, one in the Netherlands and one in Denmark, convert alternating current into direct current. The converters also convert direct current back into alternating current; electricity grids operate on the basis of alternating current.

Siemens is the main contractor for the design and technical equipment of the converter stations in Denmark and in the Netherlands and for the construction of the converter station in Eemshaven. The cables were manufactured and installed by Prysmian.

The COBRA cable will enable the Netherlands to import more renewable energy, mainly wind energy, from Denmark. Furthermore, the cable connection has been designed in such a way that it will be possible to connect an offshore wind farm at a later stage.

The capacity will be made available to the long-term, day-ahead, and intraday electricity market, TenneT said.