NKT Dogger Bank HVDC cable project
NKT has signed a supplier agreement for the NKT Dogger Bank HVDC cable project with the Dogger Bank Wind Farms Creyke Beck A and Creyke Beck B sites. The company will design, manufacture, and install high-voltage DC export cable systems for both onshore and offshore links.
Scope of the Dogger Bank HVDC cable systems
Under the agreement, NKT will deliver 4 × 175 km of 320 kV DC offshore export power cables. In addition, it will supply about 4 × 32 km of 320 kV DC onshore export power cables.
Production will begin toward the end of the year at NKT’s high-voltage cable plant in Karlskrona, Sweden. The contract is worth approximately €360 million. Once operational, the Dogger Bank export systems will help deliver green energy to around 3 million U.K. households, which strongly supports national renewable goals.
Strategic partnership with Equinor and SSE
NKT also emphasized its long-term partnerships with Equinor and SSE. President and CEO Alexander Kara noted that they selected NKT as a turnkey HVDC cable systems provider and trusted technology partner for Dogger Bank.
Furthermore, he highlighted Europe’s growing focus on renewable energy. This trend continues to create attractive growth opportunities for advanced high-voltage DC cable solutions.
525 kV HVDC cable for German corridor projects
At the same time, NKT has qualified its 525 kV high-voltage DC power cable for Germany’s HVDC corridor projects. Certification of its XLPE underground power cable now allows use in key German transmission routes that support the country’s “Energiewende” strategy, which targets a largely renewable energy system by 2050.
These long-distance HVDC links will carry renewable power—such as offshore wind—from remote generation areas to major demand centers across Germany.
Certification process and green manufacturing
NKT’s 525 kV XLPE cable underwent more than a year of testing at an independent power cable test institute before it received full certification. This new certification builds on the Cigre qualification NKT obtained in 2014, when it launched the world’s first 525 kV XLPE HVDC power cable.
The cable design keeps transmission losses low over long distances. NKT will produce it at its high-voltage plants in Germany and Sweden, using only renewable electricity. In addition, local European manufacturing reduces transport distances to the HVDC corridors and therefore lowers the overall carbon footprint of the projects.
