According to the recently updated schedule, the repairs on the Estonian-Finnish electricity interconnection EstLink 2 are due to be completed on 12 September and the interconnection will be available for the market from the next day, i.e. 13 September.
“This weekend, one of the two joints connecting the replacement cable section and the existing EstLink 2 overland and submarine cables was completed. The completion of the first connecting joint of critical importance reassures us that we will complete the construction of the second similar joint within the month, followed by testing and general construction work serving as the prerequisite for returning EstLink 2 to service,” said Reigo Kebja, Member of the Management Board of Elering.
“When it comes to constructing the joints, it is essential to keep the environment extremely sterile and at a specific level of air humidity. For this purpose, a closed tent was installed on the repair platform, and its humidity level was monitored constantly. The weather conditions have been difficult, but the lower joint at the edge of the land and the sea is nevertheless complete. Elering’s contractor teams were and still are on-site, performing this physically and mentally draining work and providing its extremely specific knowledge for this purpose. The joint is being constructed as an artisanal project and the work will continue around the clock until the completion of the joint,” explained Kebja.
Lowering the cable into the trench begins this week, which means that the cable will be installed in its permanent position. Following that, the repair platform erected in the sea will be dismantled and the drained marine area will be restored.
The repair platform built in the sea for the repair of EstLink 2 is several thousand square metres large. A breakwater was erected to protect it. A repair platform of around 400 square metres was constructed in the drained marine area in order to safely perform the repairs. A tower crane had to be erected in the work zone for delivering the construction materials and equipment.
“In a collaboration of the cable layer and boats, over 300 metres of new cable was floated to the repair platform erected in the coastal sea, where the cable was installed into the pipe located on the platform. Overland, on the other side of the cable, a wire was installed in the cable with the help of a winch, which was used to pull the cable onto land through the pipe. In order to make sure that the cable reached the destination without any damage, the team had to keep it supported for the entire winching process and monitor the various technical parameters of the cable,” Kebja described the critical activities preceding the construction of the joints.
EstLink 2 was switched off due to a failure at the end of January. The exact location of the fault was determined at the end of February. EstLink 2, with a capacity of 650 megawatts, began operating in 2014.
Until this failure, EstLink 2 had been one of the most reliable direct current connections in the Baltic Sea region.
