Lithuania is to link its electricity grid with Poland
New ABB HVDC converter station brings Lithuania closer to Europe
From 2015, the energy systems of Lithuania and Poland will be connected, strengthening the integration of the Baltic state into Europe’s electricity network.
Since the 1950s, Lithuania’s energy system has been connected only to Russia, Latvia and Belarus. But by 2015, for the first time, Lithuania will have a direct link to the European Union’s electricity grid, thanks in part to a new high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station, to be supplied and installed by ABB.
The connection will bring additional security of supply by reducing the country’s dependence on its eastern neighbors and will improve the functioning of the EU’s electricity transmission system – Lithuania and Poland are already part of the European network of transmission systems operators for electricity.
The new link will also contribute to the development of an integrated European electricity market, especially once the ‘NordBalt’ HVDC connection between Estonia and Sweden, currently under construction by ABB, is complete.
HVDC technology, which was pioneered by ABB some 60 years ago, is favored for bulk-power transmission over long distances because it is highly efficient (minimal energy losses) requires less space and is capable of going underground or under water.
For Lithuania – which joined the EU in 2004 – being part of the continent’s electricity grid marks another step towards its integration into Europe.