Poland and Lithuania to Share Electricity

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - Power sharing between Europe and the Baltic states will be feasible within the next two years as Swiss engineering firm, ABB Limited (NYSE:ABB) (Zurich, Switzerland), has been contracted to connect the electricity grids of Poland and Lithuania.

The $110 million contract was signed with Lithuanian electricity transmission system operator Litgrid (Vilnius, Lithuania) and will see ABB will supply and install a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station in Lithuania. The 500-megawatt (MW) back-to-back HVDC converter station will connect the 330-kilovolt (kV) Lithuanian grid to the 400 kV Polish grid. This will be the first time that the European and Baltic grids will be connected and represents an important step in the development of a single European Union (E.U.) electricity market. Today, Lithuania's grid is only connected to fellow Baltic state neighbours, Estonia and Latvia.

"In addition to facilitating energy trading between Poland and Lithuania, this link will strengthen grid stability and security of power supply in the region," said Brice Koch, head of ABB's Power Systems division.

The converter station will be built near the city of Alytus in Lithuania and is expected to be operational in 2015. A 160-kilometer (km) long 400 kV alternating current (AC) overhead line will link the HVDC station in Alytus with a substation close to the city of Elk in Poland.

Litgrid CEO Virgil Poderys, added: "The LitPol Link connector DC Box will be the first facility of its kind in the Baltic states. LitPol will, for the first time, connect the Baltic States and Western European electricity infrastructure and open the gates to the Western European electricity market".

The new station will also support the development of the NordBalt HVDC connection with Sweden, which is currently under construction by ABB.

The NordBalt cable will run 450km, with 400km of that running under water, followed by 10km on land in Lithuania and 40km overland in Sweden. It is expected to cost around €580 million ($774 million) and will be commissioned in 2016. The cable will allow for electricity trading and bolster the security of supply in the Baltic region.

In December, the first direct connection of Norway and Germany's electricity grids advanced with the signing of a new deal to construct a 1,400 MW subsea cable between the countries. For additional information, see December 12, 2012, article - Norway and Germany to Share Power.

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