The grids of Ireland and Wales will be connected by a 500 MW ±200 kV HVDC Light® transmission system.
The Irish transmission system operator (TSO), EirGrid, has awarded a contract to ABB to supply the power equipment that will connect the grids of Ireland and Wales. This is the first HVDC Light project to use ±200 kV cables and is one of the largest orders in ABB:s HVDC history.
Ireland has plans to expand the wind power generation and the link will give the possibility to export excess energy to the UK market. The new link will also give security of supply to the Irish grid and allow Ireland and Britain access to more competition. Additional customer benefits, due to the choice of the HVDC Light technology, are "black start" and active AC voltage support.
The link East West Interconnector will go from converter stations situated close to County Dublin on the Irish side and close to Liverpool on the British side. The cable route length consists of 75 km land cable and 186 km sea cable.
ABB is responsible for system engineering including design, supply and installation of the converter stations and the sea and land cables.
The East West Interconnector link is scheduled to be operational in 2012.
| Main data |  |
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| Commissioning year: | 2012 |
| Power rating: | 500 MW |
| No of circuits: | 1 |
| AC Voltage: | 400 kV |
| DC Voltage: | ±200 kV |
| Length of DC underground cable: | 2 x 75 km |
| Length of DC submarine cable: | 2 x 186 km |
| Main reason for choosing HVDC Light: | Length of land and sea cables, controllability, black start and active reactive power support |
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