History in the Making: the First 1100-kV UHV DC Transformer

March 28, 2018

Why do most people associate it with events that have taken place in the past?

History is a pretty interesting subject, but why do most people associate it with events that have taken place in the past? Granted, I have written about things that have happened in the industry many years ago, but history is really taking place all the time. It is not a dead subject. Sure, it is great finding out how the giants of our industry developed the technologies we are using to provide electricity to our customers, but tomorrow’s history happens today. It is being made all around us if we keep our eyes open. So, this month, I thought it would be fun to see history in the making. The recurring subject of the past couple of months has been the mega grid, but we have to keep in mind this is history being made. In 20 years, young engineers will take everything being done today as ancient history.

I was surfing videos for my column and found this one. it is about the world’s first 1,100-kV UHV DC transformer being tested in Nuremburg, Germany. I hope you enjoy the video – look at the size of the transformer. It’s amazing! I can’t wait to see the next step.

About the Author

Gene Wolf

Gene Wolf has been designing and building substations and other high technology facilities for over 32 years. He received his BSEE from Wichita State University. He received his MSEE from New Mexico State University. He is a registered professional engineer in the states of California and New Mexico. He started his career as a substation engineer for Kansas Gas and Electric, retired as the Principal Engineer of Stations for Public Service Company of New Mexico recently, and founded Lone Wolf Engineering, LLC an engineering consulting company.

Gene is widely recognized as a technical leader in the electric power industry. Gene is a fellow of the IEEE. He is the former Chairman of the IEEE PES T&D Committee. He has held the position of the Chairman of the HVDC & FACTS Subcommittee and membership in many T&D working groups. Gene is also active in renewable energy. He sponsored the formation of the “Integration of Renewable Energy into the Transmission & Distribution Grids” subcommittee and the “Intelligent Grid Transmission and Distribution” subcommittee within the Transmission and Distribution committee.