02.10.2020
The town of Wilster is located about 10 kilometres north of the Elbe river in the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, which falls within the control area of the Dutch-German transmission system operator (TSO) Tennet. Schleswig-Holstein is of eminent importance for the generation of wind power. In Wilster, after a four-year construction period, the TSCNET shareholder commissioned the renewed Wilster/West substation on 1 October, a significant grid node for the energy transition in the north and beyond. This is because the so-called Westküstenleitung (West-Coast-Line), the NordLink interconnector, which directly links the electricity markets of Germany and Norway, are converging here – and later also the SuedLink “electricity highway” for the transmission of green electricity to the German consumption centres.
For the two high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission projects NordLink and SuedLink, the capacity of the former Wilster/West substation was no longer sufficient. An extension of the switchgear was necessary to exclude impermissible load flows and guarantee the short-circuit resistance required in future. Thus, a new 380kV switchgear was built on the ground of the former 380kV substation and the new construction now replaces the old substation on the same site. Furthermore, the connection facilities for the converter stations of SuedLink and NordLink had to be provided. And finally, a 110kV switchgear was installed, which enables the dismantling of the 220kV switchgear in the near substation Itzehoe-West.
“This substation is a central hub for electricity transmission from north to south,” explains TenneT’s COO Tim Meyerjürgens. “Here, electricity from renewable sources is fed into the grid and distributed to regions with high consumption. The Wilster area is of outstanding importance for the energy transition. Because in the grid area between Wilster, Brokdorf, Itzehoe, and Brunsbüttel, three new extra-high voltage lines from TenneT converge: the Westküstenleitung, NordLink, and later also SuedLink.”

TenneT has put into operation the new substation Wilster/West (picture: TenneT)
Linkup
> See TenneT press release, in German (html)
> Watch video on the construction and commissioning of Wilster/West, in German (YouTube)