Murraylink
The Murraylink 220 MW ±150 kV HVDC bipolar interconnector is believed to be the world’s longest underground power transmission system, connecting the Riverland region in South Australia and Sunraysia region in Victoria through converter stations at Red Cliffs in Victoria and Berri in South Australia.
Murraylink consists of two 180-kilometre long bipolar HVDC cables. The circuit has an operating voltage of 150 kV and a transmission capacity of 220 megawatts. The link operates an “HVDC Light” voltage-source converter system, utilising insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBT), to convert electricity between alternating current and direct current.
The controllable interconnection allows power to be traded in either direction between the two States, and provides enough electricity to meet the needs of around 200,000 households. The HVDC transmission system comprises extruded cables buried in the ground and an HVDC converter station at each end of the link.
The order was placed by Murraylink Transmission Company Pty. (TransÉnergie Australia), a subsidiary of TransÉnergie, the transmission division of Hydro-Québec, Canada. It is now owned by Energy Infrastructure Investments consortium and operated by the APA Group.
Network reliability is improved in terms of power supply and system voltage control, as the converter stations can both transmit power and support the AC voltage of surrounding networks, an important feature for the weak Berri network at the edge of the South Australian system.
From its near tri-state border site, Murraylink can deliver power from South Australia, Victoria, NSW and the Snowy River generation in either South Australia or Victoria, using existing corridors.
The Murraylink project earned several Australian state and national awards for both environmental and engineering excellence.
Source and Images: NKT Murraylink and ABB
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The only way to make a difference is to get involved. It’s easy to sit back and wait for others to do something but when you are staring at 75-85m towers in a few years time, you will kicking yourself for not doing something when you had the chance. This is OUR only chance to stop these towers, so get involved now.
Welcome to the home of Darley Power Fight. A group of residents in Darley, Coimadai and Merrimu, united against high voltage transmission towers passing through our backyard. We came together through the realisation the transmission line will divide a narrow corridor between Darley and the Lerderderg State Park; altering landscape character, causing widespread damage to critical habitat for threatened species, increasing fire risk to the Park and thousands of residents, destroy our visual amenity, harm local agriculture and will impact businesses and property values. It will completely desecrate, in a few years, what nature has taken millions of years to create.
