Just in time for the holiday season there is good news for Sylt lovers: The E.ON network operator Schleswig-Holstein Netz (SH Netz) is making the power supply on the island even safer and has now begun laying a submarine cable from the mainland to Sylt. The last remaining overhead line on the island will be replaced by a cable, which is about 15 kilometers long and weighs 800 tons.
SH Netz currently operates three high-voltage cables to supply the island of Sylt. The new submarine cable will replace two old cables, another has already been laid by SH Netz. The power supply is thus brought up to the state of the art – so that the batteries of residents and holidaymakers can be recharged at any time, not only in the figurative sense.
The installation will be carried out with the help of “Nessi”, a caterpillar vehicle over ten meters long, weighing 91 tons and with a 1,214 hp engine. Equipped with a so-called vibration plough blade, Nessi will shake the cable deep into the watt. Due to the corresponding buoyancy in the water and the extremely wide drive chains, the soil load of the Wadden Sea per square centimeter will be less than 230 grams. This is less than an adult causes by walking through the mud flats. The work is carried out in close cooperation with the authorities responsible for the Wadden Sea nature reserve.
Once the submarine cable has been laid, the E.ON network operator will begin dismantling the disused 60,000 volt overhead line, making the North Sea island even more beautiful for future holidays – so that the dreamy view of the sea is not disturbed by a power pole.