Major expansion of medium-voltage grid in Steenwijk with P-Laser

In many parts of the Netherlands, there is a lack of grid capacity. Large companies that want to purchase and feed in electricity are particularly affected. That is why more and more grid reinforcements are being built, such as at Eeserwold Business Park in Steenwijk in Overijssel.

Green ambitions

One of the initiatives in this business park is the Energy Hub Eeserwold, which is under development. The energy that will soon be generated there will be intended for companies on the site, including an optional hydrogen plant. The initiative is in line with the national ambition to generate more green energy and with the local sustainability ambitions of the partners in the energy hub project.

Energy hub Eeserwold

The initiators of the energy hub are the Municipality of Steenwijkerland, Hydronex, N.V. RENDO and Roelofs Groep, which owns the business park. It will transfer the site to the Municipality of Steenwijkerland in due course. The energy supply of the site is in the hands of grid operator N.V. Rendo. It is using its Rendo Networks division to lay the cable route. In addition to the initiators, there are also other project participants.

10kV cable route 

To supply power to Eeserwold, a 6 km long cable route is required from an existing 110kV Enexis substation. Directional drilling (total length 2600 m) has already been carried out and casing pipes have been laid at various locations along the route. Rendo Networks is the client for the construction of the cable route. "We have bought a few fields near the high-voltage substation for our own energy supply," explains project manager Dirk Jan Tuut. "From there, we laid four bundles of three phases each to the business park." The HS/MV station of Enexis has now been reached.

Welded joints

Rendo Networks has been pulling cables and making welded joints for several months now. "We process standard reels of 1,000 m of medium-voltage cable in maximum lengths. We cannot escape connecting joints, but try to limit the number as much as possible". Each welding pit contains 12 connecting joints and the work is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.

P-Laser from Prysmian

Rendo Networks had issued a tender for the cabling, which was won by Prysmian. "Prysmian's P-Laser cable had the right technical specifications to meet our capacity calculation. We were pleasantly surprised by the high durability of this cable. I've known Prysmian for decades, but P-Laser was new to me. The flexibility of delivery and price were decisive, but sustainability is also important to us as a company."

Flawless

Prysmian has now supplied all cables for the project, a total of 60 km of 1x630 P-Laser cable. "The logistical coordination with Prysmian was good. The delivery was phased and went smoothly," Tuut testifies. To get used to it, the technicians of Rendo Networks had stripped and welded a test piece in advance. "P-Laser has a slightly different outer casing, so peeling took some getting used to. But the assembly is going satisfactorily."

Extra environmental gain

The use of P-Laser medium voltage cables makes the network extra sustainable for Eeserwold. Each kilometre of cable results in a 10 percent reduction in CO2 compared to traditional XLPE cables. This is mainly because the polypropylene (PP) insulation material of P-Laser is produced cleaner than the cross-linked polyethylene (PE) insulation of XLPE. Also, P-Laser is 100 percent recyclable while XLPE is hardly recyclable. This environmental gain is an extra boost for the project participants and highly recommended for subsequent projects.