In February 2012, the Fenno‑Skan 2 HVDC interconnector between Finland and Sweden suffered a major outage when a German vessel dropped its anchor onto the subsea cable, damaging it and interrupting power transmission. The outage, on the 800 MW, 500 kV link operated by Fingrid and Svenska kraftnät, led to higher electricity prices for Finnish consumers and industry over the following two months, with the additional cost estimated at about €80 million.
ABB completed commissioning of the Fenno-Skan 2 high-voltage direct current power link between Finland and Sweden, finalising system testing of the 800 MW cable-based transmission connection and its converter stations at Rauma in Finland and Finnböle in Sweden, so the link was ready for operational service.
Fenno-Skan 2, the 800 MW / 500 kV HVDC interconnector between Rauma in Finland and Finnböle in Sweden owned by Fingrid and Svenska kraftnät, entered full commercial operation on 16 December 2011, adding around 40% to the transmission capacity between the two countries and strengthening the Nordic power grid.
On 16 December 2011, Fingrid and Svenska Kraftnät completed and accepted construction of the Fenno-Skan 2 HVDC converter stations, making the 800 MW, 500 kV link between Rauma in Finland and Finnböle in Sweden fully available to the electricity market after a trial operation period starting on 15 November 2011. The commissioning of these onshore converter facilities, together with a 200 km submarine cable, a 70 km 500 kV DC overhead line and a new 400 kV switchyard, marked the operational readiness of the interconnector and increased transmission capacity between Finland and Sweden by about 40%.
Fingrid Oyj and Svenska Kraftnät planned for offshore installation and laying of the Fenno-Skan 2 HVDC submarine cable by Nexans to start in spring 2011, with work to continue through the summer using Nexans’ cable-laying vessel CS Skagerrak. The 800 MW, 500 kV interconnector’s approximately 200 km submarine section between Finland and Sweden was scheduled to be installed in two continuous lengths of about 100 km each, requiring only a single offshore joint.
By March 2011, the AC substation for the Fenno‑Skan 2 reinforcement had been procured from Siemens, complementing previously purchased components including the Nexans submarine cable, ABB converter stations and the HVDC overhead line from Vattenfall Service Nordic.
Licence: Cross‑border consents and water permits for HVDC interconnector
By 1 March 2011, Fenno‑Skan 2 had secured key project permits, with cross‑border consents and water permits granted in both Finland and Sweden, enabling construction of the new HVDC interconnector including its submarine cable and associated infrastructure.
In 2011, the Fenno-Skan 2 high-voltage direct current interconnector’s approximately 200-kilometre submarine cable was fully laid on the seabed of the Gulf of Bothnia between Finland and Sweden, using the cable-laying vessel SC Skagerrak and cable manufactured by Nexans. Completion of the subsea cable installation, together with the subsequent completion of the converter stations, enabled the 800 MW, 500 kV link to be made fully available to the Nordic electricity market later that year.
The European Investment Bank signed a loan agreement of EUR 150 million with Fingrid Oyj to finance the Fenno-Skan 2 HVDC cable between Finland and Sweden, a TEN-E priority project with an approximate total cost of EUR 300 million that will increase transmission capacity by about 40% and strengthen Baltic Sea region market integration.
€150M (debt)
Onshore construction for the Fenno-Skan 2 HVDC interconnector began in March 2010 at the new Finnböle converter station in Sweden, with civil works executed by Skanska under an overall converter-station contract led by ABB. At the Rauma converter station in Finland, construction work for the link was scheduled to commence in April 2010, forming part of a wider project that also included new valve halls, DC converters, AC/DC bays, and associated control and protection systems.
| Finland | Sweden | |
|---|---|---|
| Landfall | South of the town of Rauma (Finland coast) | Swedish coast of the Gulf of Bothnia near Gävle, connected via 70 km DC overhead line to Finnböle |
| Grid Connection | Rauma substation / Rauma HVDC converter (Rauma 400 kV) | Finnböle HVDC converter station |
Finland
Sweden