HVDC Russia-Finland
Encyclopedia
The HVDC Russia–Finland (also: Kernovo-Mussalo cable) was a project to build a HVDC
submarine power cable
between Kernovo, Leningrad Oblast
(Russia
) and Mussalo, Kotka
(Finland
). The main purpose of this project was to export Russian nuclear energy to Sweden
and Finland.
. In 2004, Finland based company United Power Oy, controlled by Baltenergo, a subsidiary of Rosenergoatom, submitted an official application for the submarine cable and a converter station. On 21 December 2005, a preliminary agreement of 15-years of electricity supply was signed between United Power and BasEl, representing 16 Swedish and Finnish companies.
In December 2006, the Finnish Government rejected the project. In May 2007, United Power announced it will give up its effort to build an undersea electric cable from Russia to Finland and will look instead for direct link from Russia to Sweden across the Baltic Sea.
After several years of efforts, the project was abandoned for political reasons. Politicians decided to drop support to this project in exchange to solve other bilateral issues, like the Nord Stream, Russian export duties on timber, or the leasing of the Saimaa Canal
.
In January 2008, United Power filed for insolvency at the Kotka district court.
at Sosnovy Bor.
Overall cost of the project was estimated at €300 million. The financing agreement of the project was signed with Russia's state-run foreign economic bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) in June 2006. The pay-off period of the project was calculated to take six to nine years. The construction was to be completed in 2009–2010.
, Sipoo
, Espoo
and Ingå
.
After rejection by the Finnish authorities, United Power prepared to apply a new application for a cable with a lower capacity of up to 450 MW. It also considered an alternative route from Vyborg
in Russia to Lappeenranta
in Finland. United Power and Baltenergo also tried to proceed with alternative projects to export Russian electricity to Finland through Estonia, or directly from Russia to Sweden. In February 2007, Baltenergo suggested an undersea power cable from Sosnovy Bor to Estonia instead of Finland and to sell electricity to the Nordic market through Estonia. In January 2007, United Power proposed a submarine cable from Russia directly to Sweden. This proposal was repeated by Baltenergo in May 2007. However, non of these proposals proceeded.
After the construction permit was rejected by the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry, United Power suspended its activities. In January 2008, United Power filed for insolvency at the Kotka district court.
and also by some Russian energy companies. The Russian Federal Grid Company
stated that there will not be enough electricity for export in the coming years as the Saint Petersburg
area (Leningrad Oblast
) is suffering from undercapacity, and the sea cable will worsen the current situation, as electricity would go abroad instead of to the Russian regions. The CEO of RAO UES Anatoly Chubais
said that the project is unrealistic, and possibly even non-profitable. The Finnish concerns related to the Finnish grid ability to adapt the Russian power transmission and with the amount of necessary investments into transmission grid. Fingrid said that the regional grid in the southeast of Finland is operating at maximum capacity, and could not handle the additional power. According to the Finnish Mister of Trade and Industry Mauri Pekkarinen
the undersea cable project would have required €1.5 billion in investments in strengthening the carrying capacity of the Finnish electricity grid.
Some Nordic NGO's expressed a view that the power generated in Sosnovy Bor is not suitable to be used because this nuclear power plant is old-fashioned and could pose an environmental threat.
United Power argued that the sea cable would increase competition at the Finnish energy market and decrease electricity prices by 6-8%. It also offered to build two gas-fired thermal power plants near at Sosnovy Bor with a total capacity of 900 MW as a reserve capacity. It also offered to consider alternative routes to decrease the necessity of upgrading Finnish transmission system.
High-voltage direct current
A high-voltage, direct current electric power transmission system uses direct current for the bulk transmission of electrical power, in contrast with the more common alternating current systems. For long-distance transmission, HVDC systems may be less expensive and suffer lower electrical losses...
submarine power cable
Submarine power cable
Submarine power cables are major transmission cables for carrying electric power below the surface of the water. These are called "submarine" because they usually carry electric power beneath salt water but it is also possible to use submarine power cables beneath fresh water...
between Kernovo, Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on August 1, 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position...
(Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) and Mussalo, Kotka
Kotka
Kotka is a town and municipality of Finland. Its former name is Rochensalm.Kotka is located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of Kymi River and it is part of the Kymenlaakso region in southern Finland. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water....
(Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
). The main purpose of this project was to export Russian nuclear energy to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Finland.
History
The cable has been suggested originally back in the 1990s by the Russian state nuclear power company RosenergoatomRosenergoatom
Rosenergoatom is the Russian nuclear power station operations subsidiary of Atomenergoprom. The company was established on 7 September 1992 in Presidential decree No. 1055: "On operating organization of nuclear power plants in the Russian Federation"...
. In 2004, Finland based company United Power Oy, controlled by Baltenergo, a subsidiary of Rosenergoatom, submitted an official application for the submarine cable and a converter station. On 21 December 2005, a preliminary agreement of 15-years of electricity supply was signed between United Power and BasEl, representing 16 Swedish and Finnish companies.
In December 2006, the Finnish Government rejected the project. In May 2007, United Power announced it will give up its effort to build an undersea electric cable from Russia to Finland and will look instead for direct link from Russia to Sweden across the Baltic Sea.
After several years of efforts, the project was abandoned for political reasons. Politicians decided to drop support to this project in exchange to solve other bilateral issues, like the Nord Stream, Russian export duties on timber, or the leasing of the Saimaa Canal
Saimaa Canal
The Saimaa Canal is a transportation canal that connects lake Saimaa with the Gulf of Finland near Vyborg, Russia. The canal was built from 1845 to 1856 and opened on 7 September 1856 .It was overhauled and widened in 1963–1968....
.
In January 2008, United Power filed for insolvency at the Kotka district court.
Technical features
The submarine cable was to have a capacity of 1,000 MW for the transmission of up to 8.7 TWh of electricity per year. It was to consist of two ironclad cables at a distance of 50 to 100 m (164 to 328.1 ft) from each other, and one ground metal cable. It was to be linked with the Leningrad Nuclear Power PlantLeningrad Nuclear Power Plant
Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant located in the town of Sosnovy Bor in Russia's Leningrad Oblast, on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, some to the west of the city centre of Saint Petersburg. It consists of four nuclear reactors of RBMK-1000 type. These reactors...
at Sosnovy Bor.
Overall cost of the project was estimated at €300 million. The financing agreement of the project was signed with Russia's state-run foreign economic bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) in June 2006. The pay-off period of the project was calculated to take six to nine years. The construction was to be completed in 2009–2010.
Route
The main route proposal foresaw a cable from Kernovo in Russia to Mussalo in Finland. There were also alternative options. One possible option was to replace the 1000 MW cable with two 500 MW cables connecting Kernovo with different destinations in Finland. Other considered destinations in Finland were LoviisaLoviisa
Loviisa is a municipality and town of inhabitants on the southern coast of Finland. About 43 per cent of the population is Swedish-speaking.The municipality covers an area of of which is water...
, Sipoo
Sipoo
Sipoo is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Nikkilä/Nickby.It is the eastern neighbour of Helsinki and is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water...
, Espoo
Espoo
Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
and Ingå
Ingå
Ingå is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
.
After rejection by the Finnish authorities, United Power prepared to apply a new application for a cable with a lower capacity of up to 450 MW. It also considered an alternative route from Vyborg
Vyborg
Vyborg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, to the northwest of St. Petersburg and south from Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland...
in Russia to Lappeenranta
Lappeenranta
Lappeenranta is a city and municipality that resides on the shore of the lake Saimaa in South-Eastern Finland, about from the Russian border. It belongs to the region of South Karelia. With approximately inhabitants Lappeenranta is the largest city in Finland...
in Finland. United Power and Baltenergo also tried to proceed with alternative projects to export Russian electricity to Finland through Estonia, or directly from Russia to Sweden. In February 2007, Baltenergo suggested an undersea power cable from Sosnovy Bor to Estonia instead of Finland and to sell electricity to the Nordic market through Estonia. In January 2007, United Power proposed a submarine cable from Russia directly to Sweden. This proposal was repeated by Baltenergo in May 2007. However, non of these proposals proceeded.
United Power
United Power Oy was a Finnish-Russian energy company established in 2003 as a special purpose company for transferring electricity from Russia to Finland and other European countries. The shareholders of United Power were Baltenergo, Kotkan Energia and a consortium of private investors. Chairman of the Board was András Szép and Finnish members of the board were Jaakko Ihamuotila and Pertti Salolainen.After the construction permit was rejected by the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry, United Power suspended its activities. In January 2008, United Power filed for insolvency at the Kotka district court.
Controversy
The project was backed by the Russian Government and supported by Finnish and Swedish industries. At the same time, the project was criticized by the Finnish national transmission grid operator FingridFingrid
Fingrid Oyj is a Finnish national electricity transmission grid operator. It is owned by the Finnish state , power companies Fortum and Pohjolan Voima and financial investors . CEO of the company is Jukka Ruusunen....
and also by some Russian energy companies. The Russian Federal Grid Company
FGC UES
FGC UES is the largest electricity transmission company grid in Russia.-History:RF Government Decree of 11 July 2001 № 526 "On Restructuring the Electric Power Russia" Unified Energy System of Russia was recognized as "national property and guarantee energy security of the state...
stated that there will not be enough electricity for export in the coming years as the Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
area (Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on August 1, 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position...
) is suffering from undercapacity, and the sea cable will worsen the current situation, as electricity would go abroad instead of to the Russian regions. The CEO of RAO UES Anatoly Chubais
Anatoly Chubais
Anatoly Borisovich Chubais is a Russian politician and business manager who was responsible for privatization in Russia as an influential member of Boris Yeltsin's administration. From 1998 to 2008 he was the head of the state owned electrical power monopoly RAO UES. The 2004 survey by...
said that the project is unrealistic, and possibly even non-profitable. The Finnish concerns related to the Finnish grid ability to adapt the Russian power transmission and with the amount of necessary investments into transmission grid. Fingrid said that the regional grid in the southeast of Finland is operating at maximum capacity, and could not handle the additional power. According to the Finnish Mister of Trade and Industry Mauri Pekkarinen
Mauri Pekkarinen
Reijo Mauri Matias Pekkarinen is a Finnish politician. He is the Centre Party of Finland deputy and secretary, and former Minister of Economic Affairs in the Finnish government...
the undersea cable project would have required €1.5 billion in investments in strengthening the carrying capacity of the Finnish electricity grid.
Some Nordic NGO's expressed a view that the power generated in Sosnovy Bor is not suitable to be used because this nuclear power plant is old-fashioned and could pose an environmental threat.
United Power argued that the sea cable would increase competition at the Finnish energy market and decrease electricity prices by 6-8%. It also offered to build two gas-fired thermal power plants near at Sosnovy Bor with a total capacity of 900 MW as a reserve capacity. It also offered to consider alternative routes to decrease the necessity of upgrading Finnish transmission system.