The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has been informed of Statnett’s submission of a request for a seabed survey in Hardanger this week. The survey will be conducted by an external company and the results of the survey will be made available to the general public. The objective is to complete the subsea route survey in October.

”The reason why we have not done this earlier is that the economic framework for a sea cable project of this magnitude falls outside the mandate granted to Statnett by the Norwegian Parliament. Now we have to be prepared for the fact that the construction framework may change,” says Executive Vice President of Statnett Håkon Borgen.

Open to alternatives
Statnett is also preparing for the sea cable alternative by conducting electrical system analyses, pre-engineering of land-based facilities and cable-technical calculations. This work will form the basis for the procurement process should a sea cable be constructed. The surveys will be conducted while the planning for an overhead line continues.

”Statnett will be responsible for the development regardless of whether a sea cable or an overhead line is chosen in Hardanger. To ensure a stable security of supply to Bergen and major parts of Hordaland County, it is important to minimise any delays. We are therefore preparing for both alternatives with a view to reducing delays as much as possible,” says Borgen.

At the same time, Statnett continues its work on the overhead line alternative. Planning for this has already been completed and the contract with the contractors will be signed this week. In October, we will embark on the construction of the part of the route that will be the same for both the sea cable and the overhead line alternative, in order to avoid any unnecessary delays, as requested by the Ministry of Petroleum.

For more information:
Tor Inge Akselsen
Executive Vice President Communications
Phone.: +47 95 07 95 20
Duty press officer: + 47 22 52 72 72