BritNed

{{short description|Electrical interconnector between the UK and the Netherlands}}

{{Infobox power transmission line

| name = BritNed

| photo =

| caption =

| map = {{maplink |type=line |frame=yes |plain=yes |frame-align=center |zoom=5}}

| map_caption = Location of BritNed

| country = United Kingdom, Netherlands

| state =

| province =

| coordinates = {{Coord|51|26|24|N|0|43|0|E|type:landmark|name=HVDC BritNed - Grain Static Inverter Plant}}
{{Coord|51|57|27|N|4|01|17|E|type:landmark|name=HVDC BritNed - Maasvlakte Static Inverter Plant}}

| direction = north–south, west–south

| start = Isle of Grain, Kent

| through = North Sea

| finish = Maasvlakte, Rotterdam

| par =

| owner =

| partners = National Grid plc (United Kingdom)
TenneT (Netherlands)

| operator =

| cable_manufacturer= ABB

| cable_installer=

| cable_layer = Global Marine Systems

| substation_manufacturer= Siemens

| substation_installer= BAM Nuttall

| contractors =

| construction= 2009

| expected =

| est = 2011

| decom =

| type = submarine cable

| current_type= HVDC

| length_km = 260

| capacity = 1,000 MW

| AC_voltage =

| DC_voltage = 450 kV

| poles_no = 2

| circuits_no =

}}

BritNed is a 1,000{{nbsp}}MW high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) submarine power cable between the Isle of Grain in Kent, the United Kingdom; and Maasvlakte in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The BritNed interconnector would serve as a link for the foreseeable European super grid project.

History

[[File:HVDC Europe.svg|thumb|right|250px|

See also the List of HVDC project in Europe, which would eventually be part of European Supergrid]]

The project was announced in May 2007.

{{Cite news

| title = New cable to link UK and Dutch power grids

| first = Daniel | last = Fineren

| work = Reuters

| date = 2007-05-22

| url= http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL224559420070522?sp=true

| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201028213620/https://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL224559420070522?sp=true

| url-status= dead

| archive-date= 28 October 2020

| access-date =2009-09-26}}

The installation of the first section of cable link started on 11 September 2009,

{{Cite news

| title = Dutch-UK marine power cable laying starts

| first = Catherine | last = Hornby

| work = Reuters

| date = 2009-09-11

| url= http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE58A4M620090911

| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201028212305/https://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE58A4M620090911

| url-status= dead

| archive-date= 28 October 2020

| access-date =2009-09-26}}

The entire {{convert|260|km|abbr=in}} cable was completed in October 2010.{{Cite press release

|title = Global Marine Systems Completes Power Connection Between the Netherlands and the UK

|date = 2010-10-27

|url = http://www.globalmarinesystems.com/images/upload/File/Global-Marine_BritNed-power-cable-installation_27Oct_FINAL.pdf

|publisher = Global Marine Systems

|access-date = 2011-01-13

}}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} It began operation on 1 April 2011,

{{Cite news

| title = Dutch, U.K. Regulators Approve BritNed Power Cable Trading

| first = Lars | last = Paulsson

| agency = Bloomberg

| date = 2011-02-24

| url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-24/dutch-u-k-regulators-approve-britned-power-cable-trading-1-.html

| access-date =2011-03-11}}

{{Cite press release

| title = BritNed cable electrically connects United Kingdom and the Netherlands

| date = 2011-04-01

| url = http://www.tennet.eu/de/en/news/article/britned-cable-electrically-connects-united-kingdom-and-the-netherlands.html

| publisher = TenneT

| access-date = 2016-05-10

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160510080941/http://www.tennet.eu/de/en/news/article/britned-cable-electrically-connects-united-kingdom-and-the-netherlands.html

| archive-date = 2016-05-10

| url-status = dead

}}

and as of January 2012, electricity flow has mostly been from the Netherlands to the UK.Justin Wilkes et al. [http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/ewea_documents/documents/publications/statistics/EWEA_stats_offshore_2011_02.pdf The European offshore wind industry key 2011 trends and statistics] p22 European Wind Energy Association, January 2012. Accessed: 26 March 2012.

Technical description

The {{convert|260|km|mi|sing=on|abbr=in}} long bi-pole 450{{nbsp}}kV interconnector consists of two HVDC cables, which are bundled together. The capacity of the cable is 1,000{{nbsp}}MW. The interconnector has two converter stations for connecting the link with the British and Dutch high-voltage electricity transmission systems. The cable was produced by ABB and laid by Global Marine Systems, while the BAM Nuttall/Siemens consortium was responsible for the construction and equipping of the converter stations.

{{Cite news

| title = BritNed begins laying UK-Netherlands marine electricity cable

| publisher = PennWell Corporation

| work = Power Engineering

| date = 2009-09-16

| url= http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2009/09/britned-begins-laying-uk-netherlands-marine-electricity-cable.html

| access-date =2009-09-26}}

{{Cite news

| title = ABB awards submarine cable installation projects to Global Marine Systems

| publisher = PennWell Corporation

| work = Power Engineering

| date = 2009-05-13

| url= http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2009/05/abb-awards-completion-of-projects-to-global-marine-systems.html

| access-date =2009-09-26}}

BritNed was completed on time and within the budget of €600{{nbsp}}million.

Operators

The respective transmission system operators of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands - National Grid plc and TenneT; formed a joint venture to fund and operate the interconnection, independently from National Grid and TenneT's regulated businesses.

{{Cite news

| title = €600m electricity link between the Netherlands and UK

| publisher = PennWell Corporation

| work = Power Engineering

| date = 2007-05-23

| url= http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2007/05/euro600m-electricity-link-between-the-netherlands-and-uk.html

| access-date =2009-09-26}}

Outages

BritNed suffered a number of outages due to undersea cable faults in 2020/21. A significant outage happened on 9 March 2021 and the connection was scheduled to be restored on 8 May 2021, but this was later delayed until 7 June 2021.{{Cite web | url=https://www.britned.com/news/unplanned-outage-09-march-2021-update/ | title=Notices (See, e.g. Update (31 May 2021)) | work =www.britned.com | date =31 May 2021 | access-date =2022-09-13}}