News & events

2016-06-18

LitPol Link power interconnection will be making less noise

The HVDC back-to-back converter station of the LitPol Link power interconnection which links Lithuania with Poland will be producing less noise. On June 18-21, technical measures aimed at reducing noise and eliminating discomfort experienced by people living in the vicinity of the power interconnection will be taken in the HVDC back-to-back converter station located in Butrimiškės village. During the works the power interconnection will not be available to the market.
 
“With the LitPol Link into operation we are able to identify the benefits it provides as well as shortcoming that are characteristic of the similar technological projects, for example, the noise generated by equipment. We have decided to implement measures to ensure that people living around this infrastructure are not to be disturbed by its presence,” said Karolis Sankovski, Director of Strategic Infrastructure Department of Litgrid which manages the power interconnection. 
 
The noise will be reduced by filling the special holes of transformers with sand. Transformers are the vital part of the LitPol Link’s HVDC converter stations. The converter station which is the size of two football fields accommodates eight transformers, with six of them active and two standby transformers.
 
Since the start of the LitPol Link’s operation, specialists have measured its noise level. It was established that it is close to 45 decibels, which is within permissible limits as indicated in the hygiene standards. In some cases the noise level is marginally above this limit.
 
“We envisaged the installation of noise reducing measures as early as in the designing stage of the power interconnection. For this reason the manufacturer of the transformers, the leading global technology company ABB, left special holes in transformers to be filled with sand. Only after putting the power interconnection into operation we could measure the noise produced by the transformers and other equipment as well as establish whether the measures designed for reducing noise were sufficient. After filling the transformers with sand the noise level will be measured again. We will install additional measures, if necessary,” pointed out Sankovski.
 
A HVDC back-to-back converter station is the key and most complex part of the LitPol Link power interconnection. By converting direct current into alternating current and vice versa, the converter station enables power transmission between Lithuania and Poland.