Alstom Grid has been awarded a multi-million euro turnkey contract by ElectraNet Pty Ltd to supply Flexible AC Transmission Systems in Southern Australia. Alstom will supply Fixed Series Compensation to increase the power transmission capacity by approximately 40 percent, and improve power quality along the 275 kV South Australia – Victoria transmission line.
The Fixed Series Compensation (FSC) system will be delivered to the new Black Range site located approximately 35 km south of Keith, near the town of Willalooka in South Australia. The site is halfway along the 300 km long, 275 kV transmission line from the Tailem Bend substation to the South East substation, which services the region, connecting the South Australian transmission network with Victoria.
Alstom will deliver the project on a turnkey without civil works basis, including project management, design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of the FSC system. The project will be executed by Alstom units in Australia and Finland, and is scheduled for commissioning in July 2016.
This project will deliver substantial future benefits to electricity consumers by allowing increased wind energy exports from South Australia and increased imports of lower-cost generation into South Australia, particularly at times of peak demand.
Alstom’s FSC system increases power capacity across the entire transmission line. Fixed series compensation has long been the preferred solution for optimizing performance in very large bulk transmission corridors. The function of the FSC system and its capacitors in a power grid is to improve efficiency by minimizing electrical losses and increasing the transmission system’s overall transfer capability.
