Baltic Ring Excerpt

The European Power Systems on the Threshold to a new East-West Co-operation

Harald Brumshagen
Jürgen Schwarz
PreussenElektra,
Deutsche Verbundgesellschaft (DVG),
Germany

Figure 6: The Baltic Ring

In the West, the Baltic Ring is closed by a cable link between Germany and Sweden (Baltic Cable). This link was completed in December 1994. With a transmission capacity of 600 MW and a length of 250 km it constitutes the most powerful and longest DC cable link in the world.

The Baltic Ring project will be completed by further projects of submarine links between Germany and Norway ("Viking Cable") some of which have already been decided or are in the stage of planning.

Apart from the existing connections, this ring will enable Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as well as the Baltic sea riparians Kaliningrad and St. Petersbug to develop alternatives with regard to the optimization of generation, the sharing of reserves and electricity exchanges while reducing environmental impacts. The energy supply and the economic competitiveness of these countries will be considerably improved.

In December 1994, the Baltic Ring project was included into the EU-program "Transeuropean Networks"; so it will get the special support of political authorities.