East West Interconnector

The Irish transmission system operator (TSO), EirGrid, awarded a contract to Hitachi Energy to supply power equipment to connect the power grids of Ireland and Wales

Ireland is expanding its wind power generation and the 500 MW ±200 kV EWIC HVDC Light^® transmission system provides an opportunity to export excess power into the UK market. Because EWIC transmits electricity in both directions, it benefits consumers by improving security of supply, increasing competitiveness and encouraging the growth of renewable energy generation.

Additional customer benefits, due to the choice of the HVDC Light^® technology, are the system`s "black start" capability of restoring power in the event of blackouts and active AC voltage support. In addition, by connecting to the UK national grid, Ireland can now access power from right across Europe (via an interconnector from Britain to the continent).

The East West Interconnector runs between Deeside in north Wales and Woodland, County Meath in Ireland. Approximately 260 km in length, the underground (75 km) and undersea (186 km) link has the capacity to transport enough energy to power 300,000 homes.

Hitachi Energy was responsible for system engineering, including design, supply and installation of the converter stations and the sea and land cables. The link went into operation in 2013.

Eight-year HVDC service agreement to the East West Interconnector HVDC link

The eight-year service agreement will provide service solutions for the East West Interconnector (EWIC) high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link. Service for an HVDC system includes a wide range of activities and support, from 24/7 on-call support engineers to planned outages for condition-based maintenance, health and safety management to cybersecurity, as well as spare parts, installation, and training.

Hitachi Energy provides unique service expertise to keep the EWIC link operating at maximum efficiency, performance and reliability.