Two submarine cables in the Netherlands are expected to come online this year to increase electricity imports

According to the latest project progress report, the two submarine power cables connecting the Netherlands are expected to be put into operation ahead of schedule, promoting further increase in electricity imports in the Netherlands
.

Dutch transmission system operator Tente is completing a 380 kV high-voltage DC submarine cable connecting the Netherlands with Germany, with a transmission capacity of 1-2 GW
.

Tent also revealed in late February that there could be delays in the German section of the submarine cable project, but the latest development revealed that the system is expected to be operational
by the end of July.

At present, the laying of submarine cables in the German section is underway
.
Amprion, the German grid operator responsible for the development of the project, confirmed that commissioning is expected to start this summer, with full commissioning expected to be completed by the fourth quarter
.

On the other hand, the COBRAcable submarine cable project connecting the Netherlands and Denmark is also under construction, and trial operation
is expected to start in the fourth quarter.

Earlier this month, Danish grid operator Energinet said that the COBRAcable submarine cable project will be officially put into commercial operation on February 6, 2019, with a capacity of 700 MW
.

It is reported that the commissioning of the new submarine cable has the potential to increase the amount of electricity imported by the Netherlands by one-third
.

According to Tenter's latest annual data up to February, the Netherlands is already a net importer of electricity, with an inflow of 1.
88 billion kWh, almost three times the outflow (640 million kWh).

In addition, Tent plans to double the transmission capacity at the Belgian border by 2022, with southbound flows often depending on Belgium's nuclear energy utilization
.

Belgium itself plans to establish new links with the UK (Nemo, commissioned in 2019) and Germany (Alegro, commissioned in 2020), and plans to phase out nuclear power
by 2025.

The Dutch government is also under pressure to reduce carbon emissions and reduce domestic gas production
from Europe's largest onshore gas field in Groningen.

The Dutch government plans to close all coal power plants by 2030, including three new units
with a capacity of more than 3 GW.

To achieve these goals, the Netherlands plans to accelerate renewable energy development through Tenter, connecting 3.
5 GW of offshore wind to the grid by 2023 and 7 GW of projects
by 2030.