Vetrino–Isaccea–Yuzhnoukrainsk powerline explained

Vetrino–Isaccea–Yuzhnoukrainsk powerline
Country:Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine
Direction:south–north
Through:Isaccea, Romania
Finish:South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine
Construction:1982
Est:1988
Type:Overhead transmission line
Current Type:HVAC
Ac Voltage:750 kV/400 kV
Circuits No:1

The Vetrino–Isaccea–Yuzhnoukrainsk powerline is the third 750 kilovolts powerline running from Ukraine to the European Union.

History

Construction of a 750 kV powerline from Ukraine through Romania to Bulgaria was agreed on together with construction of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant. The agreement was signed in Moscow in 1982 by the electrical industry ministers of the Soviet Union, Romania and Bulgaria. The powerline started operating in 1986 and it was completed in 1988.[1]

Route

The powerline starts in Bulgaria at Vetrino (Suvorovo) substation near Varna and runs northward. In Dobrudja it crosses the border between Romania and Bulgaria and terminates at Isaccea substation in Romania. From there the line crosses Danube River, which forms the border between Ukraine and Romania in a 938 metres long span on two 118 metres tall delta pylons situated east of Isaccea and runs than to Yuzhnoukrainsk substation situated just north of South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant.

Hereby it crosses at least four times the border between Moldova and Ukraine. However, there is and was no branch to the power grid in Moldova, although it passes Vulcăneşti substation.

Description

The used towers are designed for carrying a single circuit in a single level. As conductors bundle conductors of 4 ropes are used. Nearly all suspension towers are portal pylons, most of them guyed, but also several free-standing. The free-standing portal pylons carry the conductor in the middle on a V-shaped insulator, while the outermost conductors are as at the guyed suspension towers carried by a normal suspension insulator. As strainers triple towers are used whereby a fourth tower is required for strainers without or with less direction change for keeping the required distance of the outmost conductor to the tower. Also transposing towers are implemented as monopolar towers whereby two additional towers are required.

Current state

The section between Vetrino and Isaccea is since the synchronisation of the Romanian power grid with that of Western Europe, which took after 6 years of trial operation finally take place in 2003 https://web.archive.org/web/20110610124607/http://www.uea.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.104664!ccp08-11.pdf, operated with 400 kV.The section between Isaccea and Yuzhnoukrainsk is since the synchronisation of the Romanian power grid with that of Western Europe not in use and scrapped in most parts.

Sites

Name Coordinates
Vetrino substation
Bulgaria–Romania border crossing
Transposing tower
Transposing tower
Isaccea substation
Danube crossing, Tower South
Danube crossing, Tower North
Southern End of conductors
First crossing of border between Ukraine and Moldova
Second crossing of border between Ukraine and Moldova
Third crossing of border between Ukraine and Moldova
Fourth crossing of border between Ukraine and Moldova
Fifth crossing of border between Ukraine and Moldova
Sixth crossing of border between Ukraine and Moldova
Seventh crossing of border between Ukraine and Moldova
Eight crossing of border between Ukraine and Moldova
Ninth crossing of border between Ukraine and Moldova
Tenth crossing of border between Ukraine and Moldova
Eleventh crossing of border between Ukraine and Moldova
Southern visible end of line
Start of intact section 46.6486°N 29.7524°W
End of intact section 46.7559°N 29.961°W
Twelfth crossing of border between Ukraine and Moldova 46.7596°N 29.9665°W
Northern visible end of line
Northern End of conductors
Yuzhnoukrainsk substation

Waypoints Vetrino-Isaccea

Number Coordinates
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36

Waypoints Isaccea–Yuzhnoukrainsk

Number Coordinates
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Soviet-Romanian Programs in Nuclear Energy Development . . . 1985-11-18 . 2016-06-07.