The project; to build an undersea high voltage cable between Denmark and the Netherlands, the so-called COBRA cable, recently passed a milestone. This happened as the two system operators, Energinet.dk and Dutch TenneT, entered into agreements with suppliers on the cable development.

- We are very pleased that the last major contracts in the COBRA project is now in place, says Carsten Chachah, Chief Consultant in the Danish Energy Association: -since it is a connection, we urgently need.

The power cable between Denmark and Holland makes it possible to export power when we produce too much, and import power when we do not have enough. Since more than 42 percent of our power in 2015 came from wind energy, and with the goal of 50 percent wind in just 4 years, well-functioning international connections are vital for the green transition in Denmark, says Carsten Chachah:

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- We need connections as COBRA to increase the value of the electricity we generate from renewable energy. We must concurrently increase electrification of our domestic electricity consumption, but with the connection to the Netherlands we exploit the export potential of the green power.

Every year, the North loses hundreds of millions in export earnings because the link between Jutland in Denmark and Germany is often blocked. This is due to internal congestion in Germany. The COBRA cable is expected, in the longer term, to alleviate parts of the problem, but it is still important to focus on using the existing connections in the best possible manner, says Carsten Chachah.

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The COBRA-link is an approx. 350 km long DC cable emanating from Endrup in the south-west of Denmark. The cable, which is expected to be completed in 2019, can carry 700 MW. This allows cable import and export of what corresponds to the consumption of 700,000 households. At the same time, the connection is designed, so that new offshore wind farms in the area can be connected.

The project is named after the famous avant-garde art movement residing in Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam in the 1950s, which amongst others included the Danish artist Asger Jorn.

Source: Danish Energy Association