Construction, Energy, Energy Market, Estonia

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 23:32

Estonia: Installation of Elering's EUR 5.4 mln sea cable begins in Vaike Strait

BC, Tallinn, 22.08.2019.Print version
The installation of new electric power cables between the islands of Muhu and Saaremaa in the Vaike Strait is well underway, as a result of the project worth some 5.4 mln euros ordered by the Estonian transmission system operator (TSO) Elering, security of supply on the islands will improve and the environmental impact of overhead power lines on the dam of the strait will decrease, informed Elering`s representative.

Both of Estonia's large western islands, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa are currently powered by overhead lines on the dam on Vaike Strait. The completion of a parallel sea cable will notably reduce the risk of the islands being cut off from power for an extended period in case of overhead line disruptions, Elering said.


The construction of the sea cable also enables to decrease the number of high voltage line wires on the dam and the remaining overhead line can be put into order so that it remains more visible to birds.


The installation of the sea cable between the island of Muhu and the town of Orissaare in Saaremaa began last weekend. In the first phase of the works, floats were used to transport the 4.7-kilometer 110-kilovolt electric power cable from a vessel into the sea. The cable will be plunged into a 1.5-meter deep trench in the seabed, which will then be filled with soil.

The length of the new power cable reaching from the island of Muhu to the new substation in Orissaare totals 6.7 kilometers, 4.7 kilometers of which will be submerged. Three phases in the sea cable have been connected to one cable. The diameter of the cable is 190 millimeters, the weight 67 kilograms per meter.


The total cost of the cable, which will be established by AS Merko Infra, part of the listed Estonian Merko Ehitus group, and AS Connecto Eesti, is close to 5.4 mln euros. A similar cable will be installed by the two companies in the Suur Strait between the mainland of Estonia and Muhu island next year.


Elering established the first modern 110-kilovolt sea cable between the mainland and the island of Muhu in 2015. Since its establishment, this cable has carried the main weight in supplying electricity to the islands of Muhu, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa.






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