Commissioned projects
The most intensive period of investments in the history of Elering so far was in 2011–2014, when the company constructed the second electrical connection between Estonia and Finland, EstLink 2, two emergency reserve power plants, and the Tartu-Viljandi-Sindi 330/110 kV high-voltage line, and acquired EstLink 1.
The new Tartu-Viljandi-Sindi 330/110 kV overhead transmission line was completed in autumn 2014. The main contractors for the construction works were Empower AS and Empower Oy. The entire project lasted four years. Elering invested roughly 34 million euros in the construction of the new line.
The Tartu-Viljandi-Sindi line increases the security of supply in central and western Estonia by reducing dependence on the concentrated power network of Ida-Viru County. The Tartu-Viljandi-Sindi line is part of the 330 kV circular connection covering the entire mainland of Estonia, the last section of which will be the Harku-Lihula-Sindi 330/110 kV line to be completed in 2020.
The Tartu-Viljandi-Sindi line also plays an important role in achieving the strategic goal of synchronising the Baltic States with the European power system.
The Tartu-Viljandi-Sindi 330/110 kV overhead transmission line is 162 kilometres long. The entire lengths of the 330 kV line and the 110 kV line are supported by line masts. In the section from the Paikuse substation to the Sindi substation, the same masts carry a total of three lines – one 330 kV line and two 110 kV lines. This solution is unique in the network administered by Elering.
A power system requires emergency reserves to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the system in the case of failures. Elering launched a procurement procedure for the construction of emergency reserve capacities in 2010 and the construction of the emergency reserve power plants near Kiisa were completed in 2013 and 2014.
The total capacity of the two emergency reserve power plants is 250 megawatts, i.e. more than a quarter of the average annual consumption capacity in Estonia. Elering invested approximately 135 million euros in the power stations. This is one of the largest single investments in the history of Elering so far.
The power stations operate on natural gas and diesel fuel, if necessary, and are capable of achieving full capacity in under 10 minutes. The emergency reserve power plants do not participate in the electricity market on a daily basis — they are only launched by the electricity system control centre in the case of a failure at a power plant operating on a daily basis or a failure of an external connection. The construction of the emergency reserve power plants was an important prerequisite for the construction of EstLink 2, the second electricity connection between Estonia and Finland.
The emergency reserve power plants are usually used a few hundred hours per year. The plants can also be used for restarting a completely halted electricity system. Prior to the construction of the emergency reserve power plants, Elering was purchasing the emergency reserve service from Latvia.
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EstLink 2, the second direct current connection between Estonia and Finland, was completed in 2014. Launching of the new connection increased the power transmission capacity between the two countries from the previous 350 MW to 1,000 MW.
EstLink 2 is owned by the network managers Fingrid Oyj and Elering AS. The total length of EstLink 2 is approximately 170 km, 14 km of which is formed by overhead transmission lines in Finland, 145 km of subsea cables at the bottom of the Gulf of Finland, and 11 km of underground cables in Estonia. There are converter stations at both ends of the connections, which convert direct current into alternating current and vice versa. The subsea cable is connected to the main network of Finland at the Anttila 400 kV substation in Porvoo. In Estonia, the underground cable is connected to the power network at the Püssi 330 kV substation in Ida-Viru County.
The total cost of the project amounted to approximately 320 million euros, which was divided between Elering and the Finnish transmission system operator Fingrid. The European Union supported the project with 100 million euros.
EstLink 1 is the first electrical connection between Estonia and Finland. The construction of the connection was completed in 2006 as a commercial project of Baltic and Finnish energy companies. As of 2010, the connection has been fully at the disposal of the electricity market. In 2013, Elering and the Finnish system operator Fingrid acquired EstLink 1 from its previous owners and the transmission capacity of the connection is currently distributed by Nord Pool, the electricity market of the Nordic countries.
EstLink 1, which functions as a direct current connection, begins at the Harku substation in the vicinity of Tallinn and runs to the Espoo substation in Finland. The total length of the connection is 105 km, 74 km of which is located in the sea. The transmission capacity of EstLink 1 is 350 MW and the direct current voltage +/- 150 kV.
The new Tartu-Viljandi-Sindi 330/110 kV overhead transmission line was completed in autumn 2014. The main contractors for the construction works were Empower AS and Empower Oy. The entire project lasted four years. Elering invested roughly 34 million euros in the construction of the new line.
The Tartu-Viljandi-Sindi line increases the security of supply in central and western Estonia by reducing dependence on the concentrated power network of Ida-Viru County. The Tartu-Viljandi-Sindi line is part of the 330 kV circular connection covering the entire mainland of Estonia, the last section of which will be the Harku-Lihula-Sindi 330/110 kV line to be completed in 2020.
The Tartu-Viljandi-Sindi line also plays an important role in achieving the strategic goal of synchronising the Baltic States with the European power system.
The Tartu-Viljandi-Sindi 330/110 kV overhead transmission line is 162 kilometres long. The entire lengths of the 330 kV line and the 110 kV line are supported by line masts. In the section from the Paikuse substation to the Sindi substation, the same masts carry a total of three lines – one 330 kV line and two 110 kV lines. This solution is unique in the network administered by Elering.
A power system requires emergency reserves to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the system in the case of failures. Elering launched a procurement procedure for the construction of emergency reserve capacities in 2010 and the construction of the emergency reserve power plants near Kiisa were completed in 2013 and 2014.
The total capacity of the two emergency reserve power plants is 250 megawatts, i.e. more than a quarter of the average annual consumption capacity in Estonia. Elering invested approximately 135 million euros in the power stations. This is one of the largest single investments in the history of Elering so far.
The power stations operate on natural gas and diesel fuel, if necessary, and are capable of achieving full capacity in under 10 minutes. The emergency reserve power plants do not participate in the electricity market on a daily basis — they are only launched by the electricity system control centre in the case of a failure at a power plant operating on a daily basis or a failure of an external connection. The construction of the emergency reserve power plants was an important prerequisite for the construction of EstLink 2, the second electricity connection between Estonia and Finland.
The emergency reserve power plants are usually used a few hundred hours per year. The plants can also be used for restarting a completely halted electricity system. Prior to the construction of the emergency reserve power plants, Elering was purchasing the emergency reserve service from Latvia.
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EstLink 2, the second direct current connection between Estonia and Finland, was completed in 2014. Launching of the new connection increased the power transmission capacity between the two countries from the previous 350 MW to 1,000 MW.
EstLink 2 is owned by the network managers Fingrid Oyj and Elering AS. The total length of EstLink 2 is approximately 170 km, 14 km of which is formed by overhead transmission lines in Finland, 145 km of subsea cables at the bottom of the Gulf of Finland, and 11 km of underground cables in Estonia. There are converter stations at both ends of the connections, which convert direct current into alternating current and vice versa. The subsea cable is connected to the main network of Finland at the Anttila 400 kV substation in Porvoo. In Estonia, the underground cable is connected to the power network at the Püssi 330 kV substation in Ida-Viru County.
The total cost of the project amounted to approximately 320 million euros, which was divided between Elering and the Finnish transmission system operator Fingrid. The European Union supported the project with 100 million euros.
EstLink 1 is the first electrical connection between Estonia and Finland. The construction of the connection was completed in 2006 as a commercial project of Baltic and Finnish energy companies. As of 2010, the connection has been fully at the disposal of the electricity market. In 2013, Elering and the Finnish system operator Fingrid acquired EstLink 1 from its previous owners and the transmission capacity of the connection is currently distributed by Nord Pool, the electricity market of the Nordic countries.
EstLink 1, which functions as a direct current connection, begins at the Harku substation in the vicinity of Tallinn and runs to the Espoo substation in Finland. The total length of the connection is 105 km, 74 km of which is located in the sea. The transmission capacity of EstLink 1 is 350 MW and the direct current voltage +/- 150 kV.