Team News Riveting
State-run Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) on Wednesday announced the commissioning of the first leg of the Raigarh–Pugalur high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission project.
PGCIL has commissioned Pole-1 of the Raigarh (Chhattisgarh) to Pugalur (Tamil Nadu) 1,765 Kilometres high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system comprising 1,500 MW capacity, a company statement said. The total capacity of Raigarh-Pugalur HVDC transmission system is 6,000 MW.
The system will facilitate power flow of 1500 MW from Western Region to Southern Region ensuring reliable and quality power supply. The project was envisaged for evacuation of bulk power generated by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in the state of Chhattisgarh using the State-of-the-Art HVDC technology.
The 1765-km link will be among the longest in the world. With a capacity of 6,000 MW – the equivalent of more than six large power plants – it will be enough to meet the electricity needs of over 80 million people in India.
Termed as India’s first green energy corridor project with a HVDC link, the project is also a key element of integrating renewable energy with the main grid. It will integrate thermal and wind energy for transmission of power to high consumption centres located thousands of kilometers away, supporting electricity demands in the south, when wind strength is low, and transmitting clean energy to the north, when there is excess wind power.
The project is also a great example of the Make in India initiative where design, engineering, manufacturing of major components and project execution is done locally.
POWERGRID has completed this gigantic system despite many challenges and lockdown restrictions encountered during COVID19 pandemic due to its professional expertise and project management capabilities.
