Skagerrak 1 & 2
Cross BorderOperational
DKNO
1,632 MW500 kV240 km1976Also known as:Skagerrak (power transmission system)
Status:Operational
Capacity:1,632 MW
Type:cross border
Website:new.abb.com
Skagerrak is a multi‑pole HVDC interconnector linking the Norwegian and Danish transmission systems (Kristiansand, NO – Tjele, DK). Owned and operated by Statnett (NO) and Energinet (DK), the overall Skagerrak ensemble comprises four HVDC poles with a combined transmission capability of approximately 1,700 MW and an end‑to‑end route of about...
Supply Chain (4)
Project Timeline (9)
~Oct 2020Cable Repair
In 2020, NKT carried out a subsea repair campaign on both Skagerrak 1 and Skagerrak 2 power cables between Norway and Denmark after they were damaged. Statnett performed cut-and-seal and deburial, while NKT converted the construction vessel Olympic Zeus into a cable repair vessel, supplied repair joint kits, undertook jointing operations, and reburied the 250 kV MI-insulated HVDC cables, with the work completed by mid-October.
26 Mar 2019Regulatory Other
Licence: Application for approval of implicit grid loss handling methodology on the Skagerrak interconnector
On 26 March 2019, the transmission system operators Energinet and Statnett submitted a joint application to introduce implicit handling of grid losses on the Skagerrak interconnector between Norway (NO2) and Denmark (DK1), which includes the Skagerrak 1 and 2 HVDC links. The proposal analyses the socio‑economic effects of modelling a 3.8% loss factor for the Skagerrak interconnector directly in the Euphemia day‑ahead market algorithm and outlines an implementation plan leading to functionality testing in late 2019 and early 2020.
3 Nov 2017Cable Repair
Between September and 3 November 2017, NKT executed a turnkey subsea cable repair on the Skagerrak 2 HVDC link, part of the Skagerrak 1 & 2 interconnector between Norway and Denmark. After external damage to the 250 kV, 250 MW cable on the seabed north of Bulbjerg in Denmark, NKT mobilized its vessel and repair team to locate, access, and repair the affected 36.5 km route section, restoring the integrity of the cable system while minimizing downtime for cross-border renewable power transmission.
2007Major Maintenance
In 2007, Hitachi Energy (then ABB) carried out a major upgrade of the Skagerrak 1 and 2 HVDC link between Kristiansand in Norway and Tjele in Denmark, replacing and modernizing the control system with its MACH platform. This upgrade of poles 1 and 2 formed part of a broader modernization of the Skagerrak interconnector, enhancing operational reliability and enabling coordinated operation with later links in the scheme.
1977Commercial Operations Full Power
By 1977, both Skagerrak 1 and Skagerrak 2 cables were commissioned and in service as a bipolar HVDC scheme between Kristiansand in Norway and Tjele in Denmark, giving the Skagerrak 1 & 2 interconnector its full rating of about 500 MW under the ownership of Statnett and Energinet and marking the start of full commercial operation.
1976First Power
Skagerrak 1, the first pole of the Skagerrak 1 & 2 HVDC interconnector between Norway and Denmark, began operation in 1976, initiating HVDC power transmission between the two countries and providing the first share of the link’s roughly 500 MW capacity owned by Statnett and Energinet.
Date TBDCable Supplier Selected
Alcatel was the selected supplier and manufacturer of the HVDC submarine cables for Skagerrak 1 and 2, providing the 250 kV cables rated at 250 MW each that form the undersea part of the interconnector between Norway and Denmark, laid in water depths of up to 530 metres.
Date TBDConverter Supplier Selected
ABB was contracted to supply and build the converter station substations for the Skagerrak HVDC links, including Skagerrak 1 and 2, providing the converter infrastructure that connects the submarine cables to the AC grids at Kristiansand in Norway and Tjele in Denmark.
Date TBDOperations Other
Energinet and Statnett proposed introducing implicit handling of transmission losses of 3.8% on the Skagerrak interconnector, planning changes to agreements and IT/communications infrastructure, functionality testing from November 2019 to January 2020, and a subsequent ‘Go Live’ of the new loss-handling regime to improve socio-economic efficiency of the link between Norway (NO2) and Denmark (DK1).