Greening grid losses
Some transmitted electricity is always lost in transit. In the Dutch 220 and 380 kV grid, TenneT annually consumes approximately 525 GWh of electrical energy to offset the grid losses. This volume is equivalent to the average annual consumption of 175,000 households. Given the importance of sustainability for society at large, TenneT has chosen to purchase renewable energy to offset the Dutch grid losses. We do this by purchasing Guarantees of Origin that are submitted to CertiQ (a TenneT subsidiary that certificates electricity).
Joining forces
On 25 February, TenneT became the owner of E.ON subsidiary transpower. The acquisition is part of TenneT’s strategy to work on the creation of a northwest European electricity market and to assure the security of supply. The new combination will deliver a range of benefits, including price equalisation, improved grid balancing, insight into grid situations, and enhanced opportunities for sustainable energy development in both countries.
Bond issue
TenneT issued EUR 1 billion of senior bonds and EUR 500 million of subordinated (hybrid) bonds under the Euro Medium Term Note Programme. The net proceeds will be used by TenneT for the purchase of the German high-voltage grid company transpower and for general corporate purposes.
TenneT tackles spurs
In the coming years TenneT intends to spend EUR 127 million on tackling so-called ‘spurs’ that already have or will soon have a load above 100 MW in the recently acquired 110 kV and 150 kV electricity grids. Areas served by spurs rely on a single high-voltage line for their power supply. This makes security of supply in these areas more vulnerable than in the other parts of the high-voltage grid where there are ring-shaped structures. These structures prevent lengthy power cuts if a line fails.
Underground installation in Germany
In recognition of the wishes of local residents, TenneT intends to test in Germany the underground installation of sections of planned 380 kV lines, in accordance with the guidelines laid down in the Energieleitungsausbaugesetz (EnLAG), a law covering the extension of transmission lines. The law seeks to expedite the expansion of the high-voltage grid and names four pilot projects for partial cabling.
TenneT introduces Wintrack pylon
TenneT has developed a new type of high-voltage pylon called Wintrack, of which the first three were installed in April. This innovative design replaces the existing lattice tower and significantly reduces the so-called ‘electromagnetic field zone’ by suspending the wires closer together in bundles. Furthermore, its minimalist design ensures an unobtrusive presence in the landscape.
NorNed cable repaired
From the end of January until the end of April, a cable failure closed down NorNed, the world’s longest high-voltage submarine cable that interconnects the Norwegian and Dutch electricity grids and markets. A specially trained crew and mobile equipment were used to repair the cable.
APX-ENDEX and Belpex come together
Elia and TenneT announced the transfer to APX-ENDEX of their respective shares in the Belgian energy exchange Belpex (60% for Elia, 10% for TenneT). At the same time Elia acquired a 20% participating interest in the APX Group, a company with TenneT as its main shareholder. With this arrangement, Elia and TenneT take another major step towards establishing a single European electricity market. It also opened up greater possibilities for international trading. APX-ENDEX and Belpex are frontrunners in European market integration. APX-ENDEX is one of the first parties, together with TenneT, to pursue market coupling between the Netherlands, Belgium and France. This has resulted in price convergence, while cross-border connections are being better utilised and the markets are functioning almost perfectly. The market coupling drew extensive praise from the European Commission. European authorities approved the integration in October 2010.
Development of submarine cables
TenneT is developing, constructing and operating several submarine cable projects. They include the BritNed cable connecting the Netherlands to the United Kingdom, the COBRA cable connecting Denmark and the NorNed cable connecting Norway. In May the company announced a study into two new interconnectors with Norway with a view to increasing the transmission of renewable energy from that country: NorNed2 (a Norwegian-Dutch cable link) and NORD.LINK (a Norwegian-German cable link).
Germany-wide system control platform
Under a decision by the German Federal Network Agency Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), TenneT and the other German grid operators successfully enlarged the grid control cooperation (Netzregelverbund) to cover all of Germany with effect from 1 May. Situations that occurred in the past, with a power surplus in one control zone and a power deficit in another being resolved independently of each other, will now be tackled integrally by means of this innovative control concept. Thanks to the Germany-wide rollout of the system control platform there will be significant year-on-year cost savings. The intention is to expand the system across the national borders.
Expansion of offshore connections in Germany
TenneT was and will stay active in the connection of offshore wind farms. Among other things the company has ordered the construction of a third offshore grid connection called BorWin2 with a capacity of 800 MW. BorWin1, a 400 MW project, was completed for its High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) part in 2009; the AC-cable between TenneT’s platform and the platform of the offshore wind farm was realized in 2010. An offshore connection for the Alpha Ventus project was previously constructed as a single-line alternating-current connection. More orders for large projects called DolWin1 and HelWin1 followed in Q3 and Q4, with a capacity of approximately 1,400 MW. TenneT is already working on its fifth major project. The projects require large investments.
Extreme wind tears down pylons
Five high-voltage pylons collapsed during extreme weather in the east of the Netherlands. This had never previously happened in the Netherlands as far as known. Local fall winds reached 200 kilometres per hour at the time of the incident. The maximum wind load of the 40-metre high pylons is 180 kilometres per hour. An investigation conducted by an external agency revealed that the pylons were in good structural condition. The weather conditions were described as ‘very unusual’. The pylons were re-erected by the end of 2010.
Completion of last section of BritNed cable
The final 22 km section of the 260 km BritNed submarine cable was laid in the North Sea. BritNed is a new HVDC electricity connection with a capacity of 1,000 MW between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The BritNed cable became available to the market in April 2011. The interconnector capacity will be sold by means of two types of auction, i.e. explicit and implicit. APX-ENDEX has been engaged as the exchange for the implicit auction.
COBRA
TenneT and its Danish counterpart Energinet.dk are developing a submarine HVDC electricity connection called COBRA between Denmark and the Netherlands. The cable will be used to expedite the transmission of wind energy in the Danish and Dutch electricity systems and to enhance the security of supply. The proposed connection, with a capacity of approximately 700 MW, will be around 275 kilometres long and will come ashore in Eemshaven (the Netherlands) and Endrup (Denmark).
Massive transport operation proves huge success
More than 10,000 people turned out to watch an exceptional transport of a transformer to the high-voltage substation at Wateringen. More than 200 people were involved in transporting the transformer and the whole operation could be viewed online on a special website. Numerous tweets, photos and videos relating to the transport operation were posted online.
Monitoring of overhead high-voltage lines
TenneT introduced the German OHL Monitoring system in the Netherlands at the HUSUM Wind Energy 2010 trade fair. The system optimises the load on overhead high-voltage lines by allowing to increase the load of overhead high-voltage lines by up to 50 percent at peak load times, depending on the ambient temperature and wind strength at the line, so as to optimise deployment of the grid infrastructure’s transmission capacity.
Continued increase in conversion costs under German Renewable Energy Sources Act
TenneT and the other three German grid operators published a forecast mid-October of the likely infeed of energy generated from power stations under Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act and of the resulting costs for 2011. Based on forecasts by independent experts, infeed compensation of EUR 16.7 billion was set by law for 2011 on the instructions of the German government. German grid operators are obliged to take the renewable energy covered by the Act and to offer it immediately on the energy exchange. The expected counter value of this legally prescribed renewable electricity is around EUR 4.7 billion. The difference between the predicted compensation costs and the sales revenues accounts for a substantial part of the conversion costs necessitated by the Act. The costs are allocated to the end-consumer. Due to the rising infeed of renewable energy this renewable energy surcharge increased from 2.047 ct/KWh in 2010 to 3.530 ct/KWh in 2011.
NOVEC growth strategy proves successful
Open Tower Company B.V. (OTC), in which NOVEC holds a 25% stake, reached an agreement with KPN on the purchase of 500 ‘GSM-only’ towers in the Netherlands via a sale and leaseback arrangement. NOVEC currently manages over 850 towers for OTC. The acquisition of the 500 GSM towers further strengthens NOVEC’s position as the Netherlands’ largest independent provider of mast space for the installation of radio and telephone communication antennas.
Fatal accident
One of our German colleagues died in a tragic accident on 17 November. The fatality occurred during maintenance work on a 380 kV power line between Bergrheinfeld and Grafenrheinfeld near Bamberg.
Grid study Germany
In November, the second part of the grid study (dena 2) was released by the German Energy Agency. The study highlighted once again the urgency of grid expansion and its increasing scope beyond the measures which have already been taken in order to securely integrate renewable energies into the grid. TenneT considers innovative solutions, such as a direct current connection to transport large quantities of wind energy from north to south Germany, to be an important component of the future network.
Market coupling system off to successful start
The coupling arrangement between the electricity markets of the Benelux countries, Germany, France and the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark) made a successful start. Coupled markets make it possible to transmit electricity more effectively across the grids of the various European countries. The market coupling system is being implemented in collaboration with the energy exchanges and on the instructions of the TSOs. It is creating a larger European electricity market that will assure consumers of a reliable electricity supply at competitive prices. Prices in the Central Western Europe (CWE) region are expected to be identical more than 50% of the time. The initial results exceeded all expectations.
The market coupling between the CWE and Nordic regions represents a significant step towards the establishment of a single European electricity market. The NorNed cable was brought into the market coupling on 12 January 2011. This will be followed by further integration by coupling the United Kingdom via the BritNed cable. This link will facilitate intraday electricity trading between the two countries, thus further enhancing market integration.
Bird Flight Diverters reduce bird casualties
An innovative application is helping TenneT to reduce the number of birds that fly into its high-voltage lines. The company has fitted Bird Flight Diverters – popularly known as bird flaps – to the overhead ground wires of the lines. Research has shown that the bird flaps increase the visibility of the wires, enabling birds to alter their flight. The diverters have reduced bird collisions by almost 70% in the Netherlands. The type of diverter used by TenneT was developed in Germany in collaboration with bird protection organisations and universities.
Ongoing development of offshore grid
The governments of the ten countries bordering the North Sea signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 3 December containing arrangements for jointly coordinating the further development of an offshore grid in the North Sea over the coming three years. The North Sea Countries Offshore Grid Initiative aims to contribute to the production of sustainable energy in the North Sea while promoting market integration and safeguarding the security of the electricity supply. TenneT plays a leading role in the ENTSO-E working group that will investigate the development of the offshore and onshore high-voltage grid over the next few years.
Sustainable electricity certificates
CertiQ, a TenneT subsidiary, registered the 7,500th production installation for renewable electricity since its start on 1 July 2001. CertiQ issues Guarantees of Origin that prove the origin of (renewable) electricity. Approximately 60 million megawatt hours of renewable electricity have already been certified on the instructions of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. To further improve the transparency of the electricity market, CertiQ is taking an active part in the realisation of a European standard for Guarantees of Origin, which is being facilitated by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
First joint call for tenders saves millions
In December, the first joint Dutch-German call for tenders for transformers was completed, saving millions of euros, attributable to procurement synergy – TenneT’s ability to purchase in both the Netherlands and Germany.