/> New interconnection between Norway and Denmark to enhance the Nordic electricity market
The Group has secured a contract worth over € 40 million from the Danish transmission grid operator Energinet.dk for the development of a land HVDC cable system for the Skagerrak 4 interconnection between Norway and Denmark. The contract comprises of the supply, jointing and testing of 92 km of 500 kV mass-impregnated underground cable system and related accessories, with a transmission capacity of 700 MW, that will be made at Prysmian’s manufacturing facility in Arco Felice (Naples, Italy). Overall completion of the project is scheduled by late 2014.

The realisation of Skagerrak 4 has been agreed upon by the Danish and the Norwegian transmission grid operators Energinet.dk and Statnett in order to increase the capacity of the existing power transmission system between Norway and Denmark, thus enhancing the efficiency and competitiveness of the Nordic electricity market. Moreover, the project will contribute to the development of a more environmentally-friendly power market in Europe, by supporting the export of renewable energy produced in Norway and the growth of wind power generation in Denmark. The Skagerrak 4 project also includes an option for the Aggersund replacement project, where Energinet.dk proposes to remove the overhead lines for Skagerrak 1, 2 and 3 over the Limfjord, and install HVDC mass-impregnated cables.

“We are delighted to be working with Energinet.dk on this important project”, says Marcello Del Brenna, CEO of Prysmian Powerlink. “Northern Europe represents a strategic market for Prysmian, with a number of projects currently ongoing and already accomplished. The upgrade of interconnections in the area will further stregthen also the development of the offshore wind power, which is one of the key focus of the Group. In this area, in particular, the Group is deeply involved in the development of offshore wind farms for the exploitation of energy from renewable sources”.

Prysmian has recently been involved in some of the most strategic developments in the high value-added sector of extra high voltage energy cables and systems, such as the turnkey 400 kV power transmission link by Abu Dhabi Transmission and Dispatch Company (TRANSCO), the Trans Bay Cable project (USA), the Doha Bay Crossing (Qatar), and several offshore wind farms in the North Sea, including the milestone BorWin2 in Germany. Recently, the Group has also been awarded a contract for a turnkey 320 kV extruded HVDC underground cable system connecting France and Spain.

Two 154 kV High Voltage energy connections in Turkey
The Group’s Turkish subsidiary, Turk Prysmian, will also work on two new projects worth a total of € 20 million, the “Bursa Sanayi – Bursa Merinos” and “Istanbul Umraniye – Vaniköy” turnkey connections, providing and installing 52 km of High Voltage cables and 78 High Voltage joints and terminations. The new connection in Istanbul will replace the existing transmission line which will be removed following completion of the Umraniye – Vaniköy cable project. The Bursa cable project will provide secure transmission of electricity between the key industrial regions. The cables will be manufactured at Prysmian’s Mudanya facility and the projects are expected to be completed within 14 months of their commencement in mid-December 2010.