According to planning described in 2011, the NorGer HVDC interconnector between Norway and Germany was expected to start full commercial operation between 2015 and 2017, following construction of the approximately 600 km, 1,400 MW submarine cable and associated converter stations at Moorriem/Wilhelmshaven and Tonstad.
By 2011, the Government Office of Oldenburg had completed the regional planning procedure for the NorGer electricity cable route in Lower Saxony, marking the first stage of the two‑stage authorisation process, with only the subsequent public works planning procedure still to be passed.
After the European Commission voiced concerns about granting NorGer a regulatory exemption not available to other Norway–continent cables, the Norwegian–Swiss NorGer KS consortium withdrew its requests for an exemption permit and waived the exemption already granted by the German Federal Network Agency, effectively terminating that approval.
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NorGer was a planned high‑capacity HVDC subsea interconnector to link the Norwegian and German power systems for cross‑border energy trading and system balancing. The proposal envisaged a bipolar HVDC cable operating at approximately ±450–500 kV with a rated transfer capacity of about 1,400 MW. T...
Owners
NorGer interconnector, NorGer cable, NorGer-kabelen, NorGer sjøkabel, NorGer-Stromkabel
In 2011, EGL withdrew from the NorGer interconnector project, and Statnett SF became the 100% owner of the planned HVDC cable linking Norway and Germany.
As of May 2011, the NorGer KS consortium planned to file a new application in summer 2011 for an exemption permit for the NorGer interconnector, following withdrawal of its earlier request in response to European Commission concerns.
By 31 May 2011, onshore construction works for NorGer’s German converter station were underway at the planned landfall area on the North Sea coast of Lower Saxony, near Wilhelmshaven. The station is being built to connect the proposed 1,400 MW, roughly 570–600 km HVDC NorGer submarine cable between Norway and Germany to the German high-voltage transmission network.
By 2011, following concerns raised by the European Commission over granting NorGer an exemption permit when comparable interconnectors NordNed and NordLink were fully regulated, the Norwegian–Swiss NorGer KS consortium withdrew its requests for the exemption and waived the exemption permit already granted by the Bundesnetzagentur. The consortium indicated that a new exemption application for the Norway–Germany cable would be submitted in summer 2011.
In late November 2010, the German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) issued its initial decision on NorGer, granting national approval and an exemption under Article 7 of Regulation 1228/2003 that lifted limitations on the use of congestion revenues for the planned 1,400 MW Norway–Germany HVDC interconnector.
In June 2010, Norwegian transmission system operator Statnett SF became a new partner in the NorGer project with a 50% ownership stake, while EGL reduced its holding to about 16.7%, leaving Agder Energi and Lyse as minority shareholders alongside Statnett in the 1,400 MW, roughly 600 km HVDC interconnector.
In 2007, the partners Agder Energi, Lyse, EWE and EGL formally established the project companies NorGer AS and NorGer KS in Kristiansand to develop the NorGer HVDC interconnector between Norway and Germany, with the four partners holding equal shares in the project.
In December 2006, the initial phase of the NorGer interconnection project began, launching work on a proposed 570 km, 700 MW HVDC power cable between Kristiansand in Norway and Kiel in Germany. This early development stage was undertaken by four partners—Agder Energi, Lyse, EWE and EGL—marking the formal start of project preparation for the Norway–Germany submarine interconnector.
The NorGer KS consortium submitted requests to the German Federal Network Agency for an exemption permit under EU Regulation 1228/2003, seeking to exempt the planned 1,400 MW NorGer HVDC interconnector between Norway and Germany from certain energy‑regulation provisions.
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