Litgrid AB, the state owned Lithuanian transmission system operator, awarded Hitachi Energy a contract to supply a complete turnkey back-to-back converter station for the LitPol power interconnection between Lithuania and Poland. The 500 MW back-to-back HVDC converter station is built on a greenfield site near the town of Alytus in southern Lithuania. It helps to connect the 330 kV Lithuanian grid to the 400 kV Polish grid. A 150-km long 400 kV AC overhead line is linking the HVDC station to a substation close to the city of Elk in Poland.
The LitPol Link converter station makes it possible for Lithuania and the Baltic States to connect to the continental European power grid. Together with the NordBalt connection to Sweden, constructed by Hitachi Energy, it will improve the security of power supply in the whole area, increase the flow of renewable energy and contribute to the development of an integrated EU electricity market.
Hitachi Energy designed, engineered, supplied and installed the converter station including high-voltage equipment, such as power transformers and thyristor valves. The station is prepared for a planned second 500 MW block,. Plans call for the LitPol interconnection to ultimately reach a capacity of 1,000 MW.
The connection is expected to significantly strengthen and help develop the transmission systems in northeast Poland and southern Lithuania.
| Main data | |
|---|---|
| Commissioning year: | 2015 |
| Power rating: | 500 MW |
| No. of poles: | 2 |
| AC voltage: | Lithuanian side: 330 kV Polish side: 400 kV |
| DC voltage: | ±70 kV |
| Type of link: | Back-to-back station |
| Main reason for choosing HVDC: | Interconnecting asynchronous grids |
| Application: | Interconnecting grids |