Ramboll to map out Bornholm Energy Island export cable routes

Danish transmission system operator Energinet has hired Ramboll to map and recommend possible submerged cable routes and landing locations for the export of power from the future energy island in the Baltic Sea to Denmark and an adjacent country.

Denmark has recently approved the construction of two energy islands, in the Baltic and North Seas respectively, linked to offshore wind farms that together can provide 5 GW of capacity by 2030.

Ramboll’s work creates the groundwork for subsequent investigations and approval of the 2 GW Bornholm Energy Island project.

The next step in the project will be to carry out the environmental feasibility studies to ensure that the energy island has as few negative consequences as possible for the marine environment and surrounding nature.

”The project is of major strategic importance since the result will help form the basis for decisions about import and export of energy from the new energy island, as well as how renewable energy from the islands will interconnect the countries. This will be vital when all Europeans need green energy,” said Mikkel Benthien Kristensen, Global Division Director for Environmental Impact Assessments at Ramboll.

Ramboll’s experience with cable route planning and environmental feasibility studies internationally from projects such as the Viking Link electricity interconnector between Jutland and England, and the Baltic Pipe gas transmission system were among the reasons for Energinet choosing this engineering, architecture and consultancy company.

These projects are complex and cross-disciplinary in nature and thus will be solved as a cooperation between many different specialists. Ramboll’s project team therefore draws on 15 experts from Ramboll in Denmark, Sweden, and Germany.

The energy islands represent a whole new era for renewable energy and will make Denmark the frontrunner within advanced utilisation of offshore wind, Ramboll said.

These projects are crucial for Denmark, because the green energy from the energy islands can meet the growing electricity consumption in Denmark, but also for Europe in general.