Transpower NZ Limited will use two Siemens high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) converter stations for the inter-island HDVC Pole 3 project, which will electronically-link the North and South islands of New Zealand.
The Pole 3 project is designed to increase the capacity of the existing HVDC link and improve the robustness of the power supply between the North and South islands. The new high-voltage direct current link will ensure a reliable power supply for New Zealand, Siemens says.
The project involves replacing the 44-year-old Pole 1 equipment at Haywards substation, north of Wellington, and fitting Benmore substation in the South Island with new, modern thyristor valve units. The project will increase the capacity of the overall HVDC link to 1000MW in 2012 and 1200MW in 2014.
The Pole 3 project is worth up to NZ$672 million. The Siemens contract is the largest that will be awarded during the Pole 3 project, the company says.
Siemens will construct the converter stations at each end of the link, expand the 220 kV switchyards at both substations and build the new voltage support equipment at Haywards substation.
The contract includes the delivery and installation of the HVDC converter stations on a turnkey basis, as well as a Static Var Compensator based on the latest state of the art technology SVC PLUS.
Siemens will also replace third-party control equipment for the existing Pole 2 with the latest control system generation SIMATIC TDC. The company will also supply core components such as thyristor valves, converter transformers, smoothing reactors, protection and control systems and the AC and DC filters.