With 56 T from Lichtenfels to the Würgau substation
Germany: Four TenneT's phase-shifting transformers consisting of eight transformer boilers expand the Würgau system into a Bavarian green electricity distributor.
Image source: TenneT
Germany: Four TenneT’s phase-shifting transformers consisting of eight transformer boilers expand the Würgau system into a Bavarian green electricity distributor.
Transformers enable direct load flow control of existing circuits and thus the optimization of transmission capacities between northern and southern Germany.
The Bayreuth network operator TenneT secures the power supply of Franconia, large parts of Bavaria and also large parts of Germany on behalf of society as a whole. With the best possible utilization of existing north-south circuits, construction of new lines is reduced and the existing network is made fit for the energy transition. In the future, four so-called phase-shifting transformers will also be used for this, which will be transported in eight complex transports to the TenneT substation Würgau in the Bamberg district.
The Würgauer phase shifters show what effort has to be made for network optimization and, above all, what measures are implemented in order to bring the successful expansion of renewable energy into the network in a future-proof manner.
The fifth of a total of eight heavy load transports started on 13 September at the Lichtenfels freight station. Due to its size, each transformer consists of two transformer tanks weighing up to 326 T. A separate two-day heavy load transport had to be carried out for each of these boilers. The first four transformer boilers were transported via Bamberg earlier in summer. Now the Kübler shipping company, which specializes in such transports, will bring four more boilers in the coming weeks.
The total weight of the transports comes to 567 T. In order to drive safely on the roads, the total weight is distributed over a total of 27 axles. This means that the transports have a total length of 56.3 m. The first transport is scheduled for the night of 15 September. The other transports are currently planned for the last two weeks of September and the first week of October.
For two years now, TenneT has been preparing the Würgau substation for these largest transformers in the German TenneT network. The plant, the previous modernization of which was only completed in October 2015 with a large open house, will thus become the Bavarian hub for green electricity. In total, TenneT has invested a further $82 M (€70 M) in the Upper Franconian plant and thus laid an additional foundation for the success of the energy transition in Franconia, Bavaria and ultimately also for the safe north-south transport of electricity from renewable sources within Germany.
Source: TenneT