Siemens has been awarded a contract to deliver converters for the €10 billion SuedLink project in Germany, which is currently the world's largest grid overhaul project for wind energy.
Credit: Siemens
SuedLink includes a 700km-long underground power cable (reportedly the longest ever constructed), which will carry wind energy from the far north of the country to Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in the south.
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It is being developed jointly by electricity transmission specialists TenneT and TransnetBW, in support of Germany's ambitious objective: at least 80% of the power supply should be fed by renewable energies by 2050. To accommodate this transition, the power grids are to be significantly upgraded.
The underground cable line is being planned and built by the two companies, with an investment of approximately €10 billion. TenneT is responsible for the northern section of the cable connection, while TransnetBW will handle the southern part.
Siemens Energy is being tasked with delivering high-voltage direct current converters at the endpoints of the project, which will enable the transportation of up to 2GW of power to run the length of the cable.
The converters will be able to control reactive power, responding flexibly to fluctuations in both generation and consumption and maintain low-loss transport in both directions.
The company says this output is equivalent to that of two nuclear power stations, giving it the potential to supply around five million households with electricity.
Werner Goetz, the managing director of TransnetBW, said: “With the award of the contract, we have taken a decisive step closer to realising SuedLink. Now the planning can be further worked out in concrete terms at two starting and endpoints, and the preparatory construction measures already underway at the southern endpoint in Leingarten, Baden-Württemberg, can be driven forward.”
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“SuedLink is the most important single project of the energy system transformation in Germany and also in Europe," added TenneT CEO Tim Meyerjürgens.
"The award of these converter stations is an important milestone in our efforts to implement this system. It proves that we have managed to make important progress on SuedLink despite difficult conditions during the COVID pandemic.”
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