EU awards subsidy to COBRA cable

09-12-2009 The European Commission has awarded a subsidy to COBRA, the undersea electricity cable to be installed on the seabed between the Netherlands and Denmark. The purpose of the subsidy is to promote economic progress and sustainable development in Europe. TenneT and its Danish counterpart Energinet.dk submitted a joint subsidy application for the development and installation of the new electricity interconnector. The European Commission is allocating approx. EUR 85 million in subsidies to the project.

The subsidy has been awarded under the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR Regulation), a programme aimed at advancing new initiatives in the field of energy development. The purpose of the subsidy is to promote economic progress and sustainable development inEuropeas a means of counteracting the economic crisis. According to the European Commission, the COBRA cable supports the ambition of the European Union to realise a sustainable international energy landscape.

The objective of the COBRA project is to advance the integration of more sustainable energy (particularly wind energy) into the Dutch and Danish electricity supply. COBRA is unique because the possibility of connecting offshore wind farms to the cable will also be investigated. Little experience has been gained in this area worldwide. This means that COBRA may become a first step towards the eventual development of an offshore electricity grid.

Minister of Economic Affairs Maria van der Hoeven, who supported TenneT’s and Energinet.dk’s joint application for subsidy to the European Commission, is very pleased with the EU’s contribution to the project.“This is excellent news for the development of sustainable energy and a major boost to the efforts to combat climate change currently being discussed in Copenhagen.The COBRA cable fits in well with the ambition of realising an effective grid structure for offshore wind farms in Europe.This is yet another project that will help the Netherlands develop into a hub in the northwest European energy supply system.”

The COBRA interconnector is a direct current cable with a capacity of 700 MW. TenneT previously constructed a cable link to Norway (NorNed) and a cable to the UK is currently being installed. The new COBRA link is scheduled to become operational in 2016.

“The construction of an interconnector to Denmark fits in well with TenneT’s recent acquisition of the German grid operator transpower, as both contribute directly towards the development of a northwest European electricity market”, said TenneT CEO Mel Kroon. “The COBRA cable makes it possible to connect offshore wind farms to the grid. In addition, during the construction of the COBRA cable we will be able to take full advantage of transpower’s expertise and experience in offshore energy, both now and in the future.”

About TenneT TSO B.V.
In its capacity of Transmission System Operator (TSO), TenneT manages the Dutch national transmission grid. TenneT is responsible for the ‘highways’ (totalling some 9,000 km) of the Dutch electricity grid, which interconnects all regional grids and the European grid. Apart from the realisation and management of the grid, TenneT also safeguards the reliability and continuity of the Dutch electricity supply and, for this purpose, invests in new connections within the Netherlands and across the border.

About Energinet.dk
Energinet.dk is the Transmission System Operator of the Danish electricity and gas network, safeguards the security of supply, and ensures the efficient operation of the electricity and gas market. The company also integrates sustainable energy into the electricity system and promotes research into the development of environmentally friendly methods of electricity production. Energinet.dk generates an annual gross turnover of approx.9 billionDanish kroner.

Animation

Click on the picture below for an animation about COBRA.