Siemens has bagged a contract to supply four transformers, each with a capacity of 400kV and 315MVA, for the 2,000MW high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) cross-channel transmission link between England and France.
The delivery from the German engineering firm will be on behalf of the UK grid operator National Grid which will replace the aging transformers in the HVDC cross-channel link with the new transformers.
As per its order, Siemens will supply, install and commission the transformers for the Sellindge converter station in England. The order is expected to be fulfilled by the company by mid-2019.
The four transformers are being manufactured in the company’s transformer factory at Nuremberg in Germany.
Siemens transformers business unit CEO Beatrix Natter said: "These new HVDC transformers will enable our customer to raise its system to a new level of energy efficiency and reliability.
"We are proud that the customer has placed the order with us as a reliable technology partner."
According to Siemens, the new transformers it would provide make lesser noise, have lower transmission losses and will significantly boost the reliability of the system.
The 2GW HVDC link of 73km length connects England and France, which was commissioned in 1986, is capable of meeting the power consumption needs of up to three million households.
It transmits most of its power from France to the UK and only in very few cases that it does the otherway that is from the island to the mainland.
Next year, Siemens is scheduled to deliver 1,100kV converter transformers for a 3,284km long HVDC transmission link between Changji and Guquan in China which will have a capacity of 12GW.
Image: 400 kV HVDC transformers for the Sellindge converter station from the Nuremberg transformer factory. Photo: courtesy of Siemens AG.