Hitachi ABB Power Grids will be delivering its HVDC Light system for the IFA2 Britain-France interconnector project, which is now entering its final commissioning phase.
IFA2 will be the second HVDC interconnector between Britain and France. The 1000 MW 149 km link is now entering its energisation test stage, allowing electricity to be transmitted via the cable before going live. The construction period started in 2017.
By the end of its first year in operation, by virtue of its trading potential, especially in surplus ‘green’ energy, IFA2 will have helped avoid the emission of 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide to atmosphere.
Niklas Persson, managing director of the Grid Integration business in Hitachi ABB Power Grids, said, “In spite of these unprecedented times, we are delighted to reach this key milestone on the IFA2 interconnector project on time, which is accelerating Britain and France towards a carbon-neutral future. We look forward to continuing the meticulous testing of the complete system in the coming weeks before fully commissioning the interconnector later this year”.
The IFA2 power cable runs between Portsmouth, in Britain to a converter station near Caen in France.
Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ HVDC Light technology said to incorporate advanced features such as regulating grid fluctuations and power restoration in the event of an outage.
