Intermountain
Encyclopedia
Intermountain Power Agency
The Intermountain Power Agency located in Utah is responsible for running the Intermountain Power Project near Delta, Utah, a coal fired power plant capable of generating 1800 megawatts...
power plant
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
situated at 39°30′2"N 112°34′51"W and the Adelanto static inverter plant
Static inverter plant
A static inverter station, also known as an HVDC Converter Station, is the terminal equipment for a high-voltage direct-current transmission line, in which direct current is converted to three-phase alternating current, and, usually, the reverse...
near Adelanto, California
Adelanto, California
Adelanto is a city in San Bernardino County, California about northwest of Victorville. The population was 31,765 at the 2010 census, up from 18,130 at the 2000 census.-Name:...
at 34°33′4"N 117°26′14"W.
The Intermountain is a bipolar overhead line 488 miles (785.4 km) long, and can transfer a maximum power of 1,920 megawatts at ±500 kV. The part of the line that travels through the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
is followed by many other AC
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
500 kV lines and Interstate 15
Interstate 15
Interstate 15 is the fourth-longest north–south Interstate Highway in the United States, traveling through the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Montana from San Diego to the Canadian border...
.
The Pacific DC Intertie is the other HVDC line serving Los Angeles. This HVDC line is owned and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is the largest municipal utility in the United States, serving over four million residents. It was founded in 1902 to supply water and electricity to residents and businesses in Los Angeles and surrounding communities...
(LADWP). HVDC lines such as the Intermountain line and the Pacific DC Intertie can be distinguished by the observer by having two transmission wires, rather than the three necessary for transmission of three phase AC power.
History
ABB Group, a Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, was the primary entity commissioned for this turnkey project in the mid-1980s. ABB also had responsibility for the converter stations, which were commissioned in April 1986.In 2008, ABB received the order for an additional upgrade. This upgrade included delivery of the MACH2 control and protection system along with additional AC filters and cooling systems. This upgrade has allowed the link to reach a transmission capacity of 2400 MW (2.4 GW).
Route
From the south, the Intermountain DC circuit starts at the Adelanto substation and static inverter plant. The line heads east for a short distance, until two 500 kV circuits and one 287 kV tower line (all carrying LADWP Path 46Path 46
Path 46, also called West of Colorado River, Arizona-California West-of-the-River Path , is a set of many alternating current high-voltage transmission lines that are located in southeast California and Nevada up to the Colorado River...
power) meet the DC line from the Victorville substation, which the DC line bypasses. Heading together, the four lines head generally northeast, paralleling Interstate 15
Interstate 15
Interstate 15 is the fourth-longest north–south Interstate Highway in the United States, traveling through the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Montana from San Diego to the Canadian border...
and spanning over the highway at two places. An additional line, called Path 64
Path 64
Path 64 or the Marketplace - Adelanto line is a very long 500-kilovolt power line that runs from the Adelanto substation close to Adelanto, California and the High Desert all the way to the Marketplace substation in Nevada. Although the line is called Path 64, the 500 kV wire is actually one part...
, but part of Path 46
Path 46
Path 46, also called West of Colorado River, Arizona-California West-of-the-River Path , is a set of many alternating current high-voltage transmission lines that are located in southeast California and Nevada up to the Colorado River...
, parallels the Interstate 15 and the four lines until the California-Nevada border.
The DC line diverges from the other three 500 kV lines and the 287 kV line until the three 500 kV lines terminate at the Eldorado, Marketplace and the McCullough substations. As for the DC line, the line heads in a more northerly direction as it traverses through southeastern Nevada and the Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
region with another 500 kV line from McCullough substation. This 500 kV AC line spans across Interstate 15 with the DC line and the 500 kV line passes through Crystal substation, which the DC line bypasses.
From Nevada on north into Utah, the DC line generally parallels the 500 kV AC line and Interstate 15. The DC line turns gradually to head north-northeast and separates from Interstate 15. As for the 500 kV (Path 21) line, the line turns and heads east, spanning over the Colorado River. The DC line continues to head north-northeast out of sight of Interstate 15 as the line crosses high mountains and large desert basins until it turns east in west-central Utah and terminates at the Intermountain substation.
Electrodes and Electrode Lines
The electrode line from Adelanto Static Inverter Station is carried for 84.5 kilometres on the shield wire positions of the pylons. South of Coyote Lake at 34°57′36"N 116°41′49"W the electrode line branches on steel tube poles northward and ends at 35°1′17"N 116°41′43"W.The electrode line from Delta Static Inverter Station is carried for 44 kilometres on the shield wire positions of the pylons. At 39°18′57"N 112°54′20"W the electrode line branches westward to the grounding electrode situated at 39°18′58"N 112°55′18"W.
Both electrode lines consist of two 908 mm2 Falcon conductors, mounted on ANSI Class 52-5 porcelain insulators.
Each electrode consists of 60 deep walls with depth of 87 metres in Delta and 60 metres in Coyote Lake covering an an area of approximately 0.65 km2.
See also
- High-voltage direct currentHigh-voltage direct currentA high-voltage, direct current electric power transmission system uses direct current for the bulk transmission of electrical power, in contrast with the more common alternating current systems. For long-distance transmission, HVDC systems may be less expensive and suffer lower electrical losses...
- List of HVDC projects
- Pacific DC Intertie
- Intermountain Power PlantIntermountain Power PlantIntermountain Power Plant is a coal-fired power plant at Delta, Utah, USA. It consists of two units each with a generation capacity of . Construction on the plant began in September 1981. Commercial operation...
External links
- Intermountain HVDC transmission system, The ABB Group
- http://web.archive.org/web/20050526185217/www.transmission.bpa.gov/cigresc14/Compendium/IPP.htm
- http://web.archive.org/web/20050426153127/www.transmission.bpa.gov/cigresc14/Compendium/Ipp+Pictures.pdf