Hamburg / Wilster (dpa): The small town of Wilster in Schleswig-Holstein and the Norwegian village of Tonstad are rarely in the spotlight. For the energy transition in Europe, however, they are a kind of hotspot: “Nordlink”, one of the longest submarine cables in the world, runs between the two cities. For the first time, it connects the electricity networks of Germany and Norway. Network operator Tennet described it as “energy transition emblematic project ”, while the German promotional bank KfW has described it as a“ technologically unique project ”. On Thursday, the “electric road”, which cost about two billion euros, will be officially opened by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
Norway is interesting for Germany, as it generates its electricity almost exclusively from hydropower. This offers Germany an additional option for “green electricity”. In return, wind power can be “parked” in Norway instead of shutting down wind turbines when they produce too much electricity. “If a surplus of wind energy is generated in Germany, for example, it can be transferred to Norway via‘ NordLink ’,” is how the network operator Tennet explains the principle. “Norway’s water reservoirs then serve as a ‘natural storage’ of wind energy by keeping water in reservoirs.”
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