NordLink extends 623 kilometers from Tonstad in Agder and Wilster in Schleswig-Holstein, and is the longest submarine cable of its kind.
– NordLink is a large and important project for the climate-neutral energy system of the future. We are proud to have completed this project and to have set another world record, says CEO Hilde Tonne of Statnett.
Europe’s battery
But NordLink, and not least the effects of three planned powerful power cables between Norway and the United Kingdom, are controversial.
Enthusiasts believe the cables promote the exchange of renewable power resources between Norway and Europe. The picture that is drawn is that hydropower from Norway will replenish when there is little wind and solar energy available, and that the power goes the other way when the wind and the sun provide power surplus.
Critics believe that the increased transmission capacity does not benefit Norwegian electricity customers who finance the billion-dollar developments through grid rent.
– Double robbery
Party leader Bjørnar Moxnes in Rødt believes the cables will affect Norwegian power-intensive industry, which until now has had the advantage of producing with low climate emissions and low electricity prices.
– All investments go via the grid rent that people are required to pay for. In return, they get more expensive electricity prices. It is a double robbery, Moxnes claims to Nations.
The price of electricity went up
NordLink opened for ordinary operations in March and has already exported 1.3 terawatt hours. According to the newspaper, we received the highest electricity prices measured since 2006 in southern Norway.
Andreas Myhre, Director of Power Management at the energy company Entelios, states that this effect of the opening was expected and that NordLink and the planned cables to the UK will lead to increased electricity prices in southern Norway.
The opening of Nordlink will take place in a digital joint broadcast in both Oslo and Berlin. Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) and Minister of Petroleum and Energy Tina Bru (H) will participate in the opening event together with, among others, Prime Minister Angela Merkel and the German Minister of Trade and Energy Peter Altmaier.
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