Features Energy & Power Transmission & Distribution
Alstom secures a Nalcor Lower Churchill HVDC contract

August 18, 2014 – Alstom has been awarded a contract for the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) Labrador-Island Transmission Link in Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada.

“This key transmission link will not only create highly technical jobs, but also a robust transmission highway to provide clean and renewable energy to meet the demand of homes and businesses across Newfoundland & Labrador,” said Michael Atkinson, vice-president, Alstom Grid, North America.

The link—part of Nalcor Energy’s Lower Churchill Project—will stretch 1100 km from Muskrat Falls near Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, to Soldiers Pond, Newfoundland.

Alstom will design, supply and install a point-to-point HVDC solution, with the following features:

• 2 line-commuted converter (LCC) stations—near Muskrat Falls and Soldiers Pond near St. John’s—to convert alternating current into direct current, and vice-versa
• 2 cable compounds on both shores of the Strait of Belle Isle to connect submarine cables crossing the strait to the onshore overhead transmission lines.

“This project will be a valuable power-producing asset for more than 100 years. It will also generate significant employment and economic benefits, including $2.6 billion in income to Newfoundland & Labrador labour and business,” said Gilbert Bennett, vice-president, Nalcor Energy Lower Churchill Project.