Operators to Install Data Link Alongside COBRA Interconnector

TenneT and Energinet.dk will set up a fibre-optic data link alongside the so-called COBRA cable, scheduled to kick off construction the towards the end of this year.

The COBRA cable is a new 325-km-long subsea interconnector that will create a direct link between the Dutch and Danish power grids in 2019.

The purpose of this data cable is to facilitate communications between the two converter stations in the Netherlands and Denmark. It can also be used for a number of technical purposes, such as possible failure location and possible vessel identification (in case of damage to the cable) and registering the temperature of the COBRA cable. In future, this fibre-optic link can also be used to connect offshore wind farms to the telecommunications network. The data cable’s remaining capacity will be made available to the market.

The COBRA cable will have a capacity of 700 MW and will run from Eemshaven (the Netherlands) via the German sector of the North Sea to Endrup (Denmark). Two converter stations will be constructed onshore to connect the cable to the existing grids.

Preparations for the construction of the converter station at Eemshaven have already started. Work on the construction of the cable will start mid 2017. The COBRA cable is scheduled to be taken into operation in 2019.