Undersea cable linking German and Norwegian power networks is switched on

Norway’s prime minister, Erna Solberg, on stage, with online screen image of German chancellor Angela Merkel, behind, as Nordlink is turned on (Gorm Kallestad/NTB via AP)

Germany and Norway inaugurated a new undersea cable Thursday that directly links the two countries’ electricity networks, a project that has been described as a key step in Europe’s effort to shift away from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

The two-billion-euro project, called Nordlink, will allow Germany to export excess electricity from its wind parks to Norway, where it can be stored in the Nordic nation’s vast hydropower reservoirs.