Elering will erect the designer pylon Sookurg for the high-voltage power line near Tartu

Elering will erect the second Estonian designer pylon named Sookurg for the high-voltage power line near Tartu within the framework of the major project of connecting Estonia to the European electricity network.

The designer pylon Sookurg belongs to the same family as Soorebane, the first Estonian designer pylon erected in Lääne County in 2020. Architects Sille Pihlak and Siim Tuksam are the authors of both designer pylons.

Taavi Veskimägi, Chairman of the Management Board of Elering, noted that in the course of improving its infrastructure, Elering wishes to contribute to shaping public space and thereby also to the European Capital of Culture project for Tartu. “The designer pylon has another European reference – Sookurg will help disconnect us from the Russian electricity network and connect us to the electricity network of Continental Europe,” said Veskimägi.

According to Urmas Klaas, Mayor of Tartu, Sookurg is an excellent symbol for the topics that are currently important for Tartu. “Building a strong future is not just a technological challenge; it also provides us the opportunity to make our physical and social environment more aesthetical and interesting. This energy system development project, which is currently notably topical, along with its attractive landmark in our urban space, also links seamlessly with the guiding principle “Arts of Survival” of Tartu as a European Capital of Culture 2024. Sookurg epitomises this principle quite literally,” added Klaas.

The new designer pylon will be situated in Tähtvere village at the crossing of Tallinn-Tartu highway and Tiksoja road. The pylon is nearly 45 metres high and it will carry a powerful 330 kilovolt transit power line and a 110 kilovolt power line which is important for local electricity supply. The builders of electricity infrastructure Enersense and Leonhard Weiss are the main contractors for the pylon and the entire high-voltage line being upgraded.

The metal parts of Sookurg will be built in the Romanian plant of Norsteel S.r.l. The manufacturing drawings of the pylon are currently being revised and completed. The welding work of the parts of the pylon will take place this spring/summer in the Romanian factory and erecting the pylon is currently planned to take place in the second half of summer. A new landscape engineering and lighting solution will be created for the pylon.

The designer pylon Sookurg will carry the conductors of the Balti-Tartu high-voltage power line. The line is a part of a major project as a result of which the Baltic States will disconnect their electricity systems from the Russian network and join the Continental European electricity system and frequency area by the beginning of 2026 at the latest. Within the framework of the project, Elering will reconstruct several high-voltage power lines, build the synchronous compensators required for the stable operation of the electricity system, and upgrade the monitoring and administration systems of the electricity system. The cost of the entire project in Estonia amounts to approximately 300 million euros.