Elering installs second undersea power cable between Saaremaa, Muhu islands
This Saturday, Estonian transmission system operator (TSO) Elering undertook the laying of a 110-kilovolt undersea power cable between the Western Estonian islands of Saaremaa and Muhu.
The installation of the cable will cost €7.3 million. Once energized, it will allow for the removal of the overhead power line that runs along Väinatamm Dam, which has posed a danger to birds for decades.
The five-kilometer-long undersea cable is being laid in one piece from a specially equipped ship.
"This morning, we started floating the cable to its final position," said Reigo Kebja, board member and head of asset management at Elering.
"Because the depth of the Väike Strait along the cable route is around 1.5 meters, the cable ship itself is positioned nearly 10 kilometers away, and the cable itself is being floated into its final position with the help of smaller auxiliary vessels," he explained.
He noted on Saturday that the cable will hopefully finish being floated to its final position and then installed on the seabed by Sunday evening.
"We plan to bring the new cable into service during the fall, around September, October, and after that we can start dismantling the overhead lines and utility poles on the Väike Strait dam," Kebja added.
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Editor: Valner Väino, Aili Vahtla