Two NordBalt Transformers Unloaded at Port of Klaipėda
Jan. 9, 2015
On Dec. 11, the first two transformers for the power interconnection NordBalt to link Lithuania with Sweden have been successfully unloaded from the vessel by a floating crane.
On Dec. 11, the first two transformers for the power interconnection NordBalt to link Lithuania with Sweden were successfully unloaded from the vessel by a floating crane. One of the transformers weighing 196 tons was loaded on a special trailer equipped with 168 wheels and 14 axes.
At night it was transported through the city of Klaipėda to the village of Kiškėnai where a HVDC back-to-back converter station for NordBalt is being built. The transformer's delivery route stretching through Jūrininkų Avenue and the streets of Lipkių and Švepelių in Klaipėda and the roads 141 and 227 was chosen to avoid road obstacles, turns, roundabouts and flyovers, while the night-time hours were chosen to avoid causing inconvenience for drivers.
"These transformers are the first delivered to Klaipėda for the converter station. The intense work at the construction site of the converter station will last until the end of the next year when all large-size and technologically complex equipment will be delivered, connected and tested for its ability to interconnect the different energy systems of Lithuania and Sweden," said Karolis Sankovski, head of the Strategic Infrastructure Department and member of the board of the Lithuanian electricity transmission system operator Litgrid.
The first NordBalt transformer delivered to the Klaipėda transformer substation in Kiškėnai was unloaded from the trailer and will be installed at a site near the converter building. Three transformers in total will be installed at this site along with one standby transformer. The second delivered transformer reached its destination in Kiškėnai by overcoming the 9-km route. The third transformer and the standby transformer are due to be delivered to the Klaipėda substation this month.
The transformers with a capacity of 256 MVA will be the most powerful in Lithuania. They are one of the key elements of the NordBalt converter station and are used to change the voltage and split up direct current and alternating current.
The NordBalt transformers were manufactured by the global technology group ABB at its plant in Ludvika, Sweden. After having been successfully tested in early November, they were put into special containers for delivery to Lithuania.
The 250-km section of the NordBalt submarine cable has been laid on the bed of the Baltic Sea. The construction of the 13-km land cable going through the town of Alksnynė, under the Curonian Spit and the industrial part of Klaipėda to the Klaipėda transformer substation was finished in November.
The 450-km NordBalt power interconnection should start operating at the end of 2015. With a capacity of 700 MW, it will enable electricity exchange between Lithuania and Sweden in both directions.
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