The Gotland HVDC link

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The world's first commercial HVDC transmission, the Gotland HVDC link from 1954, has been replaced with a 260 MW bipole.

Mercury arc valves and thyristor valves installed at Gotland 1, Historical<br>
Gotland 1 with thyristor valve group (click to view larger photo)
The 20 MW, 100 kV Gotland 1 HVDC transmission from 1954 was the first commercial HVDC transmission in the world. The converters valves were mercury-arc valves. In 1970 the stations were supple-mented with thyristor valves which were connected in series with the mercury-arc valves. The voltage was raised to 150 kV and the transmission capacity to 30 MW.
It was the first time thyristor valves were used in a commercial HVDC transmission in the world.

Read more in about Gotland 1 in: The early HVDC development (pdf, 0,21 MB)
Gotland 2 and 3
Gotland II, Valve hall<br>
Gotland 2 valve hall interior
In 1983 a new cable was laid between Västervik and Ygne. The rated voltage was 150 kV and transmission capacity 130 MW and the converters were built up of thyristor valves. In order to meet the greater demand and also to increase the safety of supply to the island, a decision was taken in 1985 to invest in yet another HVDC link, Gotland 3.

The original cable and terminal equipment for Gotland 1 was taken out of service and dismantled in 1986 when Gotland 3 was built.

Main data
Commissioning year: Pole 2: 1983, Pole 3: 1987
Power rating: 260 MW
No. of poles:2
AC voltage:130 kV (Västervik), 70 kV (Ygne)
DC voltage:±150 kV
Length of DC submarine cables: 2 x 96 km
Length of DC overhead line:7 km
Main reason for choosing HVDC:Length of sea crossing

Last edited 2009-10-20
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Gotland map with converter stations Västervik (Vastervik) and Ygne.
View this HVDC project in Google Earth!

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