Nexans is working with German transmission system operator (TSO) Amprion as part of upgrades that will increase transmission capacity for wind-generated power.
Nexans is supplying cables for underground sections of Amprion’s route.
Delivery of the cables is scheduled for July 2022, with installation completed in 2023.
For Germany to meet 80% of electricity needs with renewables by 2050, Amprion and other TSOs will need to upgrade their high voltage (HV) networks to transport electricity generated by wind farms in the north over long distances to the main areas of consumption in the south.
While the majority of the TSO’s HV routes, between Lower Saxony and the Alps, comprise overhead lines, at certain environmentally sensitive sections Amprion is taking the route underground.
Nexans was involved in the TSO’s partial undergrounding pilot at Raesfield and has now been chosen to supply 31.8km of 400 kilovolt cable for a major project at Legden on the route between Wesel and Meppen.
The 5.2km Legden route is made up of 2.1km of tunnel and 3.1km of pipes.
Nexans is supplying the cable for one double circuit with a 2500mm squared copper cross-section.
Nexans subsea and land systems sales manager Ralf-Michael Menger said: “TSOs no longer have to make an either-or choice between overhead lines or underground cables.
“Instead they can specify the most appropriate technology to meet their environmental and financial objectives appropriate for each section of their transmission routes.”
The cable will be delivered by Nexans Benelux plant based in Charleroi, Belgium while the steel support structures for the project will be subcontracted to a specialist company.