Alstom Gets Contract for Labrador-Island Transmission Link

Nalcor Energy awarded Alstom a ±350 kV bi-pole HVDC (LCC) turnkey contract to design, supply, and install a point-to-point HVDC solution for the Labrador-Island Transmission Link.

The contract includes the following features:

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

The transmission link – part of Nalcor Energy’s Lower Churchill Project – will stretch 1,100 km from Muskrat Falls near Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador to Soldiers Pond, Newfoundland and will transmit hydropower from the 824 megawatt Muskrat Falls Project to the island of Newfoundland.

“We are delighted to work with Alstom on the development of the Muskrat Falls Project. This project will be a valuable power-producing asset for decades. It will also generate significant employment and economic benefits, including CAD$2.6 billion in income to Newfoundland and Labrador labour and business,” said Gilbert Bennett, Vice President, Nalcor Energy Lower Churchill Project.

The Labrador-Island Transmission Link is essential for the delivery of energy for Newfoundland and Labrador and will help lay the foundation for the future energy corridor between Canada and the United States for clean energy trading.

Press Release, August 25, 2014