News & events

2015-02-02

The first LitPol Link transformer arrives in Alytus

The first of the eight transformers for LitPol Link, a power interconnection between Lithuania and Poland, has been delivered to Alytus. Loaded on a special trailer it was transported overnight from Klaipėda to the  Alytus region, where a HVDC back-to-back converter station for LitPol Link is being built.
 
The transformer will be installed in the converter station, the key and most intricate element of LitPol Link, which is constructed near the Alytus transformer substation. By converting alternating current into direct current and back into alternating current, the converter station will help to transmit electricity between Lithuania and Poland.
 
"This converter station is unique because its two converters will be located in Lithuania, meaning that the conversion of alternating current into direct current and back into alternating current will be carried out solely by the converter station in Lithuania. Although the construction of the converter station is technologically complex, the construction work is going according to schedule. LitPol Link will connect the electricity transmission grids of Lithuania and Poland and help to expand the common European electricity market," said Karolis Sankovski, Head of the Strategic Infrastructure Department and Member of the Board of the Lithuanian electricity transmission system operator Litgrid.
 
The 110-tonne transformer which was delivered to Lithuania by ship from the Swedish port of Norrköping is nearly seven metres long and five metres high. At the Klaipėda container terminal the transformer was lifted from the ship onto a special trailer equipped with twelve axes. It took nearly sixteen hours to transport the cargo to Alytus. You can find the photos of the journey here.
 
The route for delivering the transformer was carefully planned and agreed with the Lithuanian Road Administration and other state institutions. To protect the road infrastructure from being damaged by the bulky cargo each section of the route was examined by taking into account the width and height of road structures and the ability of flyovers to withstand the weight of the cargo. The night hours were chosen to avoid causing inconvenience to drivers.
 
Eight transformers in total will be installed in the LitPol Link converter station, two of them will be standby transformers. The second transformer will be delivered to Alytus this week and the rest are expected to arrive until mid-April.
 
All LitPol Link transformers were manufactured by the main contractor of the LitPol Link project, the global technology group ABB, at its factory in the Swedish town of Ludvika. The transformers already delivered to Lithuania underwent strict factory acceptance tests with the participation of Litgrid specialists.
 
LitPol Link will be put into operation at the end of 2015 and have a capacity of 500 MW. It will be the first power interconnection to link the electricity infrastructures of Lithuania and Poland.