"This is a major milestone for Statnett and for Northern Norway," says Executive Vice President for Constructions Elisabeth Vike Vardheim. She adds that, "with the new 420 kV power line completed here, we now have two 420 kV power lines to Balsfjord, and security of supply has been improved throughout the region north of Ofoten and all the way to Eastern Finnmark".
A total of 150 km of 420 kV power line has been installed, approx. 450 pylons have been raised and four substations have been considerably expanded.
"The construction work has been ongoing since May 2014, and both progress and cost are according to plan," says Vardheim. She emphasises that "there have been no severe injuries to personnel or damage to the environment in connection with the construction, and we are very satisfied with this". "The contractors have done a good job, and Statnett's project and construction management have done a good job coordinating".
The power line was constructed by two Italian power line contractors, Consorzio Italia 2000 and Rebaioli. Nettpartner constructed the foundations for pylon sites on a sub-section and BAAS, Visinor and Fjellbygg were subcontractors for the two Italian companies as regards foundations. A number of players worked on the substations; ABB, Siemens, Aktør som bygger, Laksaa, Jacobsen Elektro, Storegga Entreprenør, etc.
Some work is still under way, e.g. at Ofoten substation and the demolition of the 132 kV power line from Fossmoen to Straumsmo, which is now redundant and can be returned to nature. This is why certain activities will be taking place in the area, both this year and next year.
Vardheim concludes that, "now that winter is coming, with higher consumption and demands for transmission capacity to the north, it is very gratifying for this section to be complete". "The bottleneck we previously had near Ofoten, is now history".