Van den Berg is helping to extend the existing 16 kilometre high-voltage grid to a route covering 47 kilometres in East and West Flanders, from Zomergem to Zeebrugge. The project crosses an area of 18 municipalities.
With imports from the Port of Zeebrugge growing by 3.5 percent, energy demand in Zeebrugge is expected to increase. Thanks to the Stevin project, Belgium and West Flanders, including the Port of Zeebrugge, are guaranteed a reliable supply of electricity.
At 380 kV, it carries the highest voltage used in the Belgian electricity grid. The Stevin connection will have a capacity of 3000 megawatts, which is equal to the amount of electricity generated by three large nuclear power plants.
A tunnel is being created in Bruges under the Baudouin Canal. The tunnel will allow the new 380 kV underground cables to pass under the canal. Two tunnel shafts have been built along both sides of the canal with a diameter of 14 metres and a depth of 32 metres.
It was decided to create a 16-metre wide trench to hide all the cables. That is why the route runs through agricultural land. The cables will be laid at a depth of 2 metres so that the land can still be farmed once installation is complete.
The technical installations will be designed to blend with the landscape. An embankment provides both a physical and a visual barrier between the “Strandwijk” coastal area and the high-voltage substation. A double avenue reinforces the earth wall and provides an imposing overall appearance.
Project name
From Zomergem to Zeebrugge
Category
Horizontal Directional Drilling
Location
Oost- en West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Building Period
2016 - 2017
