Photo story Finland.tif A 100 MW, 160 km high-voltage direct current (HVDC) tran ...

Photo story Finland.tif A 100 MW, 160 km high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system is to be installed between the Finnish mainland and the Finnish archipelago Åland. The $130mn link, a route for which is pictured, will be supplied by ABB for Kraftnät Åland, and is planned to help facilitate the greater use of renewable energy sources for the group of islands. The Åland archipelago - an autonomous Finnish province at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea - currently receives its power through an AC cable from Sweden, as well as local renewable sources. Once the new link is in operation, the islands’ existing fossil fuelled power generation backup facility is planned for closure. Two 100 MW, ±80 kV HVDC ‘Light’ converter stations, one situated in Ytterby, Åland and the other in Nådendal, Finland are to be designed, engineered, supplied and commissioned by ABB. Two 80 kV submarine cables will transmit the power. The link is scheduled to become operational in 2015.