ABB has won an order worth approx. € 270 million from the UK grid operator National Grid and Réseau de Transport d'Electricité (RTE) to provide HVDC (high-voltage direct current) technology that will help interconnect the electricity networks of France and the UK.
ABB will provide the two high-voltage direct current HVDC Light converter stations which will be linked with a subsea cable.
Prysmian has secured a contract worth around € 350 million for the turn-key design, manufacture and installation of a submarine and land power cable link to connect Tourbe in France to Chilling in Hampshire, UK. The High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) interconnection will operate at ± 320 kV DC and will allow up to 1000MW of power to be transferred between the countries. The HVDC cable system comprises approximately 25 km route length in France, running from Tourbe converter station in Northern France to the landing point close to Caen. The subsea route is just over 200 km and will land at the south coast of the UK at Solent Airport near Fareham where the UK converter station is to be located. In addition to the HVDC cable link, the contract includes a High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) link that will connect the converter station to a local substation in Chilling, UK. This includes 2 km land sections at each end with a 5 km subsea section between them. The system commissioning is scheduled for 2020.