Murraylink is an Australian

high voltage direct current A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system (also called a power superhighway or an electrical superhighway) uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating curren ...

electricity transmission Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is d ...

link between Berri in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and Red Cliffs in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seyche ...

, connecting the two state

electricity grid An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power ...

s. Murraylink was commissioned in 2002 and is believed to be the world's longest underground transmission system and cost more than A$177 million. It was built by TransEnergie Australia, a subsidiary of

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec is a public utility that manages the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the Canadian province of Quebec, as well as the export of power to portions of the Northeast United States. It was established by the ...

. It was sold to the Australian Pipeline Trust (APA Group) in March 2006 for A$153 million. In December 2008 ownership of Murraylink (as well as Directlink) was transferred to the newly formed Energy Infrastructure Investments Group, while APA continued as the operator. The ownership of EII is APA with 19.9%, with the balance with Japan-based

Marubeni (, OSE: 8002, NSE: 8002) is a '' sōgō shōsha'' (general trading company) headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest ''sogo shosha'' and has leading market shares in cereal and paper pulp trading as well as a ...

Corporation with 49.9% and Osaka Gas with 30.2%.

Capacity

Murraylink consists of two long bipolar HVDC cables. The circuit has an operating voltage of 150 kV and a transmission capacity of 220

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...

s. The link operates an "HVDC Light" voltage-source converter system, utilising

insulated-gate bipolar transistor An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily used as an electronic switch, which, as it was developed, came to combine high efficiency and fast switching. It consists of four alternating lay ...

s (IGBT), to convert electricity between alternating current and direct current. While Murraylink is rated at 220MW, it is unable to operate at capacity during periods of high demand due to limitations in the transmission infrastructure at either end. The limitations relate to thermal overload of transformers or transmission lines supplying the

Riverland The Riverland is a region of South Australia. It covers an area of along the River Murray from where it flows into South Australia from New South Wales and Victoria downstream to Blanchetown. The major town centres are Renmark, Berri, L ...

(for South Australia to Victoria transmission) and western Victoria (for Victoria to South Australia transmission).

Sites

References

External links

HVDC transmission lines Electric power transmission systems in Australia Hydro-Québec Electric power infrastructure in South Australia Electric power infrastructure in Victoria (Australia) 2002 establishments in Australia Energy infrastructure completed in 2002 {{powerline-stub