Hitachi Energy and TransGrid team up to support Australia’s sustainable energy future

Challenge

The energy landscape is changing across the globe. With sustainable development in focus, electricity is set to become the backbone of the entire energy system while renewables are being integrated on an unprecedented scale into electrical grids worldwide. These developments put a great emphasis on the reliability of power networks.

TransGrid, a leading Australian transmission network service provider, is upgrading the Queensland – New South Wales Interconnector (QNI), a 330-kilovolt (kV) transmission link, more than 300 kilometres long. The upgrade project will boost the interstate power transfer capacity between Queensland and New South Wales. The outcome would be not only the sharing of low-cost power generation between the two states and reduced electricity bills for customers, but also increased capacity of the network to integrate renewable energy.

For long transmission links like QNI, power quality becomes a major concern. Maintaining a stable voltage profile across the transmission line can be challenging and failing to do so will result in failure of electrical equipment. Recognizing the impact that could arise from unreliable power supply, capacitor banks have been installed across the transmission line to help maintain a uniform voltage profile across the network.

Solution

Hitachi Energy plays a vital role in improving the power quality of QNI by adding a total of nine open rack capacitor banks at the key Tamworth, Armidale and Dumaresq substations. The capacitor banks which are robust in design and simple to install, offer enhanced power quality and network reliability.

"The QNI upgrade will enabling the sharing of  safe, reliable and lower-cost electricity between the two states. The project also ensures improved power flow, supporting a cost-effective and stable supply of electricity to energy customers, especially during peak demand periods.” said Transgrid’s Project Director Colin Mayer.  “Hitachi Energy’s capacitor banks, installed at strategic locations in the network, will boost reliability of the interconnector, strengthening voltage stability across the transmission line.”

Impact 

Power quality is a high priority for utilities and industries and the adoption of renewable energy comes with additional complexities in the energy system. Solutions such as the open rack capacitor banks are needed to integrate renewables at scale – supporting the acceleration of the energy transition.

Hitachi Energy’s open rack capacitor banks are well-proven and highly reliable power quality solutions for utilities as well as bulk power consuming industries. Available over a wide range of configurations, these solutions can be designed for any network voltage from 1 to above 800 kV. With an optimized footprint, these capacitor banks are installed to meet customer requirements and can withstand tough climatic conditions with ease.