Alstom Grids 600 kV Ultra High Voltage Direct Current converter transformer en route from Stafford to Brazil
Alstom Grids 600 kV Ultra High Voltage Direct Current converter transformer en route from Stafford to Brazil
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Alstom Grid has successfully completed manufacture and testing of four High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) converter transformers, destined for Brazils Rio Madeira project, the longest Direct Current transmission line in the world.
The work was carried out at Alstom Grids Centre of Excellence in Stafford, with the final transformer of the series, a 600kV Ultra HVDC converter transformer, leaving the factory on Friday 23rd March for a five-week journey by sea to Brazil.
In 2009 the IE Madeira consortium, made up of three major Brazilian energy providers, awarded Alstom the project to supply two HVDC bi-pole converter stations. These converter stations will be integrated into the worlds longest DC transmission line, covering 2,375 kilometres, to connect the new hydro power plants of the Madeira River (Santo Antoniô and Jirau) to Brazils South-Eastern region, which has the largest energy consumption in the country. DC transmission is the preferred method of transferring power over large distances as it minimises power loss across the transmission lines
More than 250 Stafford employees participated in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of the converter transformers. The Stafford Centre of Excellence is now supporting the power transformer factories in Canoas (Brazil) and Wuhan (China), to ensure a first rate internal technology transfer in order to produce the remaining 24 UHVDC converter transformers required for the project.
The successful design and construction of this technology will be used as a reference for future HVDC projects happening across the globe, declared David Woolhouse, Managing Director of Power Transformers for Alstom Grid in Stafford. We are very proud that Alstoms UK Centre of Excellence was the starting point for this achievement. We believe this project demonstrates the capabilities and dedication of the UK team, as well as showcasing the reliability and efficiency of Alstom Grid products and solutions.