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LITGRID and ABB signed an agreement for design and construction of LitPol Link HVDC converter station

Vilnius, Lithuania, 2013-02-15 14:03 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LITGRID, the
Lithuanian electricity transmission system operator, and ABB, the global
technology group, have signed an agreement for design and construction of a
high-voltage direct current (HVDC) back-to-back converter station with a 400 kV
switchyard in Alytus. 

The value of the contract is 288 million LTL. The board of LITGRID approved the
contract. The preliminary value of the LitPol Link project being implemented by
Lithuania and Poland is 1.281 billion LTL. 

The HVDC back-to-back converter station that is the key element in the LitPol
Link interconnection will be built next to the Alytus transformer substation.
Construction work will begin in spring 2014 and will be completed by December
2015. A high-voltage electricity transmission line will be built, and the
Alytus substation's 330 kV switchyard will be remodelled. Operation of the
power interconnector will begin in December 2015. 

According to Virgilijus Poderys, Chief Executive Officer of LITGRID,
construction of the HVDC back-to-back converter station is a very important
milestone in the implementation of the LitPol Link electricity interconnection
project. 

“The LitPol Link project is now taking on a tangible shape. The unique HVDC
back-to-back converter station, first of this type in the Baltic countries, is
the major part of the LitPol Link electricity interconnection. For the first
time LitPol Link will connect the electricity infrastructure of the Baltic
countries and Europe and will enable the integration of Lithuania, Latvia, and
Estonia into the European electricity market,” said Mr. Poderys after the
contract was signed. 

The 500 megawatt HVDC back-to-back converter station, 100 metres in width and
350 metres in length, is a unique device being built to order. Under the
agreement ABB will prepare the technical designs for the back-to-back HVDC
converter station and switchyard, perform all the necessary research, deliver
and install the devices, test them, and launch operations. 

Litgrid is implementing strategic Lithuanian electricity energy projects of
LitPol Link and NordBalt to connect the electricity transmission infrastructure
of the three Baltic States and Europe and will create conditions necessary for
electricity market integration. By the end of 2015, LitPol Link will begin
operating with a capacity of 500 MW, while by 2020 the capacity will be 1000
MW. By the end of 2015 the interconnections to Poland and Sweden will allow to
integrate the infrastructure of the Baltic countries electricity system into
the European grid and electricity market. 


         Laura Šebekienė
         Head of Communications
         Ph. + 370 693 65377,
         Email: laura.sebekiene@litgrid.eu