Heywood interconnector

The Heywood interconnector is a 275 kV overhead electricity transmission line with two circuits connecting the electricity grids in South Australia and Victoria, two states of Australia. Both are part of the National Electricity Market. The nominal capacity of the interconnector is 650 MW since an upgrade in 2016.[1] The interconnector was commissioned in 1988 and was the first connection between the two state electricity grids.[2]

Heywood Interconnector
Map of Heywood Interconnector
Location
CountryAustralia
StateSouth Australia and Victoria
Coordinates37.7330°S 140.8410°E / -37.7330; 140.8410
General directionEast–West
FromHeywood, Victoria
Passes throughMount Gambier, Tailem Bend
ToGould Creek, South Australia
Ownership information
OwnerElectraNet
OperatorAustralian Energy Market Operator
Construction information
Commissioned1988
Technical information
Typeoverhead transmission line
Type of currentAC
AC voltage275kV

Routing

The Victorian end of the interconnector is the substation at Heywood. The South Australian end is the South East substation near Mount Gambier. When constructed, the Heywood Interconnector project created the new 275 kV links from South East substation through the Tailem Bend substation to the Para Substation at Gould Creek on the outskirts of Adelaide as Para was the closest 275 kV substation to Heywood at the time.[3] The 2016 upgrade included a new substation named Black Range at Willalooka (half way between the South East and Tailem Bend substations) with series compensation to improve transmission efficiency.[2]

Function

When the Heywood interconnector was built in 1988, the primary purpose was to move cheaper coal-powered electricity from Victoria to South Australia. In later years, it has been used to an increasing degree to transport wind-powered electricity from South Australia to Victoria.

The 2016 South Australian blackout occurred, because multiple windfarms reduced power during a major thunderstorm, after multiple lightning strikes caused short-circuits on transmission lines. The Heywood interconnector became overloaded, as the missing generation was automatically drawn from Victoria. The tripping of the interconnector lead to an islanding of the SA power system, which fell into a rapid frequency decline.

References
  1. "SA-Vic (Heywood) Interconnector Upgrade". ElectraNet. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  2. "South Australia to Victoria Interconnector Upgrade" (PDF). ElectraNet. September 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  3. "INTERCONNECTOR CAPABILITIESFOR THE NATIONAL ELECTRICITY MARKET" (PDF). Australian Energy Market Operator. November 2017. p. 6. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
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